


The one we trust

by xEmeraldWater



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Dragon Hunters, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fire, Fluff, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Whump, Humiliation, Humor, Hurt Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, In love!Ruffnut, Jealousy, Kidnapping, Manipulation, Oblivious Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Oblivious dragon riders, Paranoia, Race To The Edge, Sarcasm, Swordfighting, Trust Issues, dragon eye - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2019-11-05 15:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17921045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xEmeraldWater/pseuds/xEmeraldWater
Summary: A mysterious stranger lands on the shores of Dragon’s Edge, claiming to have been attacked by the hunters. As everyone accepts him, Hiccup can’t help but being suspicious, is he right? Or is he just jealous and paranoid like the others says?Contains : drama, action, angst, hurt, comfort, humor, romance (Hiccup and Astrid, mostly)





	1. CHAPTER 1

**Author's Note:**

> CROSS POSTED ON Fanfiction.net (Same story/username) 
> 
> Hi there, this is my first HTTYD Fanfiction, I do not own the movie and English is not my native language so sorry for the mistakes, but feel free to correct me if needed. 
> 
> This story is kinda like Heather Report episode of Riders of Berk, but set in RTTE with different roles… And I thought I was being creative ^^’ 
> 
> Anyway, it is complete and secure on my hard drive, but I will post every chapter every two days, because if I can torture my readers, why not? XD 
> 
> About the timeline of the story: During season 5 of Race To The Edge series, after Dawn of Destruction (5x7) episode. Incoherencies might ensue. It’s better if you watched the series first, but it’s not absolutely necessary to understand the main plot. There will be some references to it though.

CHAPTER 1

 

Even though the sun started to go down, the dragon riders’ day wasn’t really over. Because of the damages caused by the volcano, their work schedule has been multiplied by four. 

 

‘’Easy, bud.’’

 

Hiccup, with Toothless’ help, was installing the second to last gronk iron plate on the outside wall protecting the Edge. After Viggo’s attack, the base reinforcement, as well as its reconstruction, was first on the chief’s priority list.

 

He looked up at the sky for the first time on the day and wiped the sweat off his forehead. The sun was already starting to go down. 

 

‘’Looks like we’re going to eat later again today.’’ He said while caressing his dragon’s head.

 

At the mention of food, Toothless’ stomach started to rumble loudly. The growl that followed said a lot about his will to continue.

 

‘’Come on Toothless! We can’t leave this, it’s almost done!’’ Hiccup answered while showing him the spot where the last plate should be. 

 

Toothless protested once more, pulling out his unimpressed face.

 

‘’Please! The sooner we get the plate, the sooner we can install it and go back.’’ 

 

Knowing his riders wouldn’t give up, Toothless decided to comply and headed toward the central part of the Edge where the riders were making the plates. 

 

Or at least that’s what Hiccup thought they were doing. When he arrived at the place, he only found Fishlegs, Meatlug and the twins, the four of them absent from their position.

 

‘’What are you doing?’’ Asked Hiccup.

 

Fishlegs, who didn’t hear Hiccup coming, jumped while letting out a short scream.

 

‘’Hiccup! Is the wall reinforcement going well?’’

 

‘’Very well, I came looking for new plates to finish the east side of the wall’’ Hiccup explained, his gaze landing on the empty cases. 

 

‘’Yeah, about that…Meatlug is exhausted, I don’t think she can produce anymore gronkle iron for today. And I think Tuff and Ruff have also reached their limits.’’ He said pointing his thumb at them.

 

Both of them were crouched, hitting their heads one after the other on a remaining iron plate.

 

‘’Keep going lil’ sis! We have to-ouch- harden-ow- our skull.’’ Tuffnut encouraged after each hit.

 

‘’I think our head-ouch-‘’ Ruffnut stood back up to look at her brother, ‘’is going to break like our dragons.’’

 

Tuff stood back up in his turn and grabbed his sister’s hand.

 

‘’We have to, Ruff, in honor of Barf and Belch!’’ He cried dramatically.

 

When Fishlegs let out an exasperated sigh, Hiccup placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He knew it was sometimes difficult to deal with the twins.

 

‘’Where are their dragons?’’ He asked.

 

‘’In the nursery…’’

 

Hiccup frowned.

 

‘’But they are okay!’’ Fishlegs quickly added, waving his hands. ‘’They knocked themselves out while making the plates.’’ 

 

‘’Which explain why the production stopped.’’ Hiccup concluded.

 

‘’Yeah, that and…some other reasons?’’ The dragon trainer answered, embarrassed.

 

‘’What do you mean?’’

 

‘’Snotlout isn’t back yet, it’s been a while since he went to fetch the materials.’’

 

Hiccup sighed and immediately made his way towards Toothless.

 

‘’I’m going to check on him-‘’

 

He got cut off by a dragon roar far away. The young Viking turned his head in its direction, narrowing his eyes to avoid being blinded by the sun. It actually was Snotlout and Hookfang finally coming back with the materials.   
  
And they weren’t alone, Astrid and Stormfly were with them, they were the ones carrying the supplies. Hiccup joined them with his dragon to help them put down the stones to the ground. Meanwhile, Hookfang and his trainer landed. As soon as the Monstrous Nightmare’s paw touched the ground, he collapsed. 

 

‘’Thank you.’’ Astrid smiled.

 

Hiccup nodded softly to her but his smile slipped as he strode towards Snotlout.

 

‘’What happened?’’

 

Snotlout slid down from his dragon back and dusted off his clothes. 

 

‘’What happened? We almost died! That’s what happened! And it’s your fault!’’ He screamed, pointing his index finger at Hiccup. 

 

‘’ My fault?!’’ Hiccup repeated, incredulous.

 

‘’Yeah! Hiccup the great chief took off this morning, leaving us with a hundred of plates to make! Do you know how many return trip I had to do today?’’ 

 

Hookfang fired a spark at his rider.

 

‘’Yeah, the return trip _Hookfang and I_ had to do…’’ He corrected, ‘’Five! In one day! And now, my dragon sprained his wing and can barely fly! We almost crashed into the ocean!’’ 

 

Snotlout guided his explication with wide gestures, clearly he was upset and Hicup knew it wouldn’t be easy to calm him down.

 

‘’That’s when I saw them as I came back from patrol.’’ Astrid finished.

 

‘’About that, did you see anything, Astrid?’’ The chief asked.

 

Astrid shook her head.

 

‘’Nothing, as usual.’’

 

Hiccup hummed and scratched his chin, deep in thoughts.

 

‘’Hey! Did anyone hear what I just said?!’’ Snotlout asked, getting angrier.

 

‘’Yeah, I don’t know how we couldn’t hear you Snotlout…’’ The blond answered sarcastically.

 

‘’Really Astrid? So now that you are face to him you won’t say anything?’’

 

Hiccup shot her a questioning look.

 

‘’Well…’’ The young Viking started, but Snotlout cut her off immediately. .

 

‘’It’s her seventh patrol today, don’t you think it’s… oh I don’t know? Totally stupid?!’’ Snotlout screamed at Hiccup. 

 

‘’What he’s trying to say is that maybe establishing one patrol per hour is a little bit much knowing the amount of work we already have on the Edge.’’ Astrid explained diplomatically.

 

Hiccup couldn’t believe his ears. Astrid was starting to give up too?

 

‘’Astrid… you know why we have to make theses patrols, you all know it.’’ Hiccup looked at each of his comrades; he could read the tiredness on their face. At this moment many questions crossed his mind, but they were cut short when Snotlout spoke anew.

 

‘’Yeah right, because Viggo is supposedly back from the dead. We don’t even know it was him!’’ 

 

‘’You think I would have shared an information like this if I wasn’t sure of it?!’’ Astrid outraged.

 

Hiccup put himself between the two, raising his hands, telling them to calm down.

 

‘’Viggo or not Viggo, the hunters are still out there, the sooner we are ready to face them, the better.’’ 

 

‘’Yeah, well at that rate there will be no one left to face them! Look at Hookfang, look at me!’’ Snotlout took one strand of hair between his fingers. ’’I’m growing white hair! Heather won’t love me anymore!’’ He whined.

 

‘’Well that won’t be that different, since she didn’t want to have anything to do with you before.’’ Astrid scoffed.

 

‘’That’s it, laugh at me, you won’t tell anything to your dear Hiccup anyways!’’

 

‘’Are you jealous?’’ She mocked.

 

Snotlout was ready to answer, but Hiccup stopped him right away.

 

‘’Enough ! I though I didn’t need to remind you what is at stake here! Yes it’s hard, yes, the days are long, but we don’t have a choice! The hunters can come here anytime, attack us, steal our knowledge on the dragons or worse. And you worry about your hair?’’ He looked at Snotlout angrily. 

 

‘’I think the problem might come from our lack in number.’’ Fishlegs proposed.

 

‘’And the lack of explosions!’’ Exclaimed the twins who just joigned the group.

 

‘’It’s true that one or two more dragon riders wouldn’t hurt…’’ Astrid approved.

 

‘’I’m not against it either, but our allies have their own defenses to build, unfortunately, we’re on our own for now.’’ Hiccup argued.

 

‘’So we keep working like slaves? No way!’’ Snotlout said as he stomped his foot.

‘’Oh come on! There’s more work than usual but I would never ask you something I knew you wouldn’t be capable of. There is two weeks left of work at most, I’m sure your hair can handle that.’’ He concluded sarcastically. 

 

‘’Oh yeah? Sorry, but I’m out! Come on Hookfang let’s get out of here.’’ Snotlout said as he left on foot with his dragon.

 

‘’Snotlout, come back here!’’ Hiccup ordered, but the other viking ignored him.

 

‘’Have fun with his tyrant!’’ He screamed before disappearing out of sight. 

 

Annoyed, Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose. When he raised his head again, he saw the twins leaving in their turn.

 

‘’Hey, where do you think you’re going?’’ He called.

 

‘’To check on our dragons.’’ Said Ruffnut, turning around.

 

‘’Okay, can you please fill up the stables on the way?’’ He asked them before they got too far away.

 

‘’At your command, _master_!’’ Tuffnut answered, insisting on the last word.

 

Hiccup couldn’t help but feel hurt when he heard it, did his teammates really thought of him this way?

 

He turned towards Fishlegs while trying to hide his sadness.  

 

‘’Fishlegs…can you quickly do the inventory before leaving? I’ll take care of the last plates witch one of the gronkles of the island.’’ 

 

Fishlegs nodded and flew off with Meatlug towards the storehouse. 

 

‘’Come on girl, you worked very well today.’’ 

 

As soon as they were gone, Hiccup’s shoulder slumped and a long sigh escaped his lips. When he felt Astrid’s hand on his shoulder, he took it in his, smiling. The simple fact of having her beside him gave him back the courage he had lost.

 

‘’Everything’s alright?’’ She asked softly.

 

Hiccup stayed silent for a moment, his partner waited patiently all the while. Toothless approached him, sliding his head under his arm. His trainer gave a faint smile while petting him.

 

‘’Do you think I’m being too hard on them?’’ He asked suddenly while fixing the huts.

 

‘’I think…that maybe you are overestimating them a bit much.’’ Astrid answered carefully.

 

Hiccup looked at her with curiosity, encouraging her to continue. 

 

‘’You are a great chief, Hiccup, you’ve showed us so many times. We’ve followed you to this place, and we will follow you after that, no matter where, you know that.’’

 

Hiccup gave her a sad smile.

 

‘’I know.’’

 

Astrid nodded before continuing.

 

‘’However, despite how devoted they might be, you can’t ask them to work as hard as you do, because they are not… _you_. They aren’t used to have that much pressure on their shoulders, you need to give them time.’’

 

‘’We’re far away from our adventure quest looking for new dragons species huh?’’ Hiccup said with bitterness as he watched Toothless run towards Stormfly.

 

‘’Maybe it isn’t a coincidence, maybe we are doing what we were meant to do, to fight, not against the dragons, but for them.’’ She also shifted her gaze towards the two dragons playing. 

 

‘’I really want to believe it is possible, to defeat the hunters, to protect every dragon.’’ He said softly, lowering his head.

 

‘’And we’ll succeed.’’ Astrid answered him while straightening up his chin so he could look at her, ‘’But not with a team on the verge of exhaustion.’’ She finished.

 

A wave of guilt crashed over Hiccup. Astrid was right, he should above all think about the well being of his team.

 

‘’You’re right, I’ll try to talk to Snotlout tomorrow.’’ He kissed her on the cheek and started to walk in Toothless’ direction.

 

‘’I’ll take the last patrol, don’t wait me up for dinner.’’ He added while checking his saddle. The young man was about to climb on his dragon when a hand grabbed his tunic. He whirled around to face Astrid, her eyes were shining with rare sadness. 

 

‘’You know, that’s also worth for you Hiccup, you should take a break.’’ 

 

Hiccup smiled, touched that Astrid was worrying for him.

 

‘’Don’t worry, I’ll just finish some knock up tonight and tomorrow I’ll slow down, promise!’’ Before she could answer, he hopped on Toothless and flew to the forge.

 

When he finally finished his ‘knock up’ the night has already settled down on the Edge. It’s not without guilt that he woke up Toothless to go on patrol. Fortunately, the dragon was always up for a night trip, especially when his stomach was full. 

 

Both glided in silence, unnoticeable, and fresh air filled Hiccup’s lungs who let himself close his eyes and appreciate the flight. It was at this moment that he realized he didn’t take the time to fly with Toothless outside the patrols for a really long time. Just flying, to feel free, to not think of the constant threat hovering above him, his team and the rest of the dragons anymore.  

 

However it was inconceivable for him to relax, it felt like his whole world could crash in one blink of the eye. If his team couldn’t keep up anymore then so be it, he would make his possible to do the work they couldn’t do.

 

A yawn escaped Toothless’ mouth, Hiccup laughed while stroking his dragon’s head. Suddenly he realized something, and a new wave of guilt washed over him.

 

‘’I’m sorry Toothless, I’m asking a lot of you.’’

 

The dragon turned his head to look at him and let out an interrogative growl, not understanding what his trainer was talking about.

 

‘’Since the volcano’s eruption and the hunter’s attack, you stood every day by my side without complaining…’’ He swallowed before continuing, ‘’If you want to stop, I would understand.’’

 

The Nightfury slapped Hiccup’s arm with his earflap.

 

‘’Ouch !’’ His rider cried.

 

Toothless let out a determined cry while beating his wings harder to gain speed, showing what he thought of Hiccup’s proposal. In front of this act of loyalty and enthusiasm, Hiccup couldn’t help but smile fondly. The young viking didn’t know what he would do without him.

 

‘’Thank you, bud, you’re the best.’’ He said as he hugged his dragon, who purred in satisfaction.

 

Suddenly, a flash of light caught both friend’s eyes towards the beach below them. It was so fast that Hiccup thought he hallucinated, but giving Toothless’ reaction, it couldn’t just be his imagination. 

 

‘’Let’s get a closer look.’’ He whispered.

 

Without a sound, they went down, and quickly hid behind a pile of rock. From his crouched position, Hiccup inspected the area, but didn’t spot any trail on the sand, whenever if came from a human or a dragon.

 

With a sign of the hand, he asked Toothless to shoot a plasma blast to scan the area. His shot reverberated on the entire beach as well as the surrounding caves. The NightFury purred sadly, telling him he didn’t detect anything. Hiccup frowned at that, maybe this light was only a reflection on the ocean?

 

Before continuing the patrol, he threw one last worried glance at the beach as they took off. Toothless immediately felt his rider’s posture rigidify.

 

Later at Dragon’s Edge, Hiccup continued to work on the dragon eye. Toothless’ snoring and the rustling of paper were the only sounds filling the room. It didn’t take long for the rider to fall asleep in his turn.  
  
On the edge of the table, a now cold meal was waiting for him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s it for chapter 1, sorry if it was a little boring, I needed to settle the mood of each dragon riders. The plot starts next chapter. =D


	2. Chapter 2

 

CHAPTER 2

 

 

The next morning, his wakening could no be more brutal.

 

‘’Hiccup !’’ Fishlegs cried as he hurtled in his hut.

 

Hiccup jumped and almost fell off his chair whereas Toothless, on guard, prepared a plasma blast and aimed it in the intruder’s direction. He immediately stopped when he recognized the squeak of the dragon rider.

 

‘’What the- Fishlegs ? What’s wrong?’’ Hiccup asked as he ran to his friend.

 

This one was leaning forward, his hands resting on his knees. With much effort, he tried to explain the problem to his leader. 

 

‘’We… we found… someon-‘’ He stopped to swallow and started coughing. Hiccup patted his back gently and Toothless joined them, purring, as if he wanted to apologize. 

 

‘’Easy, catch your breath and try to explain to me calmly.’’ He said while trying to hide his own worry. Did something happen to one of his teammates? What if the hurters had attacked?

 

Fishlegs nodded and took a deep breath before trying again.

 

‘’We found someone washed up on the beach, he’s breathing but unconscious. We don’t know for how long he was here.’’

 

Hiccup gasped and frowned.

 

‘’Bring me to him.’’ He said with an urgent tone. 

 

The two men rushed outside, followed closely by Toothless, and headed towards the clubhouse. They crossed ways with Snotlout and Tuffnut who were carrying the stranger. It was a man barely older than him, tall, with tanned skin. His muscular arms were draped around his friend’ shoulders, his head was hanging down as well as his long brown hair that hid his face. Hiccup also noticed that he wasn’t wearing any shoes and his clothes were pretty light for this time of the year.

 

‘’Hello? Maybe you could give us a hand?’’ Snotlout groaned while readjusting the strangers arm around his neck.

 

‘’Let’s bring him to Fishleg’s hut.’’ Hiccup said, grabbing the stranger’s legs.

 

The three of them carried him to Fishleg’s bed. Once settled the latter started to examine him, the young man murmured something but did not wake up.

 

The boys were quickly joined by Astrid and Ruffnut who brought up a basin of water and fresh clothes.

 

‘’How is he?’’ Astrid asked as she laid down the cloth pile on a chair.

 

Fishlegs finished his examination then straightened up.

 

‘’I found no visible injuries, I think he’s simply exhausted and probably starving.’’ He announced.

 

‘’He probably swam a long way before washing over our island…I suppose we’ll just have to wait for him to wake up now.’’ She sighed.

 

‘’Where did you find him exactly?’’ Hiccup asked the blonde. Her gaze landed on Fishlegs who seemed to have the answer. 

 

‘’I was on patrol when I saw something laying on the beach in the west part of the Edge.’’ He started.

 

Hiccup’s eyes widened, the west beach, that’s the one he went to last night.

 

‘’Did you see anyone else?’’ The chief promptly asked.

 

‘’No... no ship, no one, just him.’’ He tilted his head toward the young man, still unconscious.

 

Hiccup approached him and cleared the hair from his neck, looking for a tattoo or any sign that might tell him where he came from.

 

‘’Didn’t he have anything else on him? No tribe mark? No weapons?’’ He asked while slowly turning the strangers’ hands to inspect his palms. 

 

‘’Nothing, and even if he had, don’t you think it would be better to ask him instead of handling him like that?’’ Snotlout quipped.

 

Hiccup stopped and put the blanked back in place.

 

‘’A stranger mysteriously wash over our island, excuse me if I’m trying to know if he’s on our side before waking him up.’’ He said, crossing his arms.

 

‘’Oh, can I handle him too?’’ Ruffnut asked, evidently under the spell of the newcomer.

 

‘’Me too, me too!’’ Tuffnut exclaimed as he ran towards the bed, but his sister purposely made him trip so she could overtake him. They fought wildly before getting stopped by a furious Fishlegs, ready to protect his patient. 

 

‘’Ok, the twins, everyone, out! We’re going to let Fishlegs work okay?’’ He nodded in his friend’s direction before adding, ‘’Call me if you need anything.’’

 

‘’Alright.’’

 

Everyone exited the hut except Hiccup who turned around one last time to his teammate..

 

‘’Fishlegs, are you sure you didn’t see anyone else?’’ He asked once again.

 

‘’No, I’m sure, Hiccup!’’ Fishlegs answered, a bit hurt by the lack of trust coming from his leader.

 

Hiccup accepted his answer before leaving, something wasn’t right, how this man could’ve ended up on their island without anyone seeing anything?

 

As he exited the hut, he met Astrid who directly noticed his troubled expression.

 

‘’Something’s wrong?’’ She asked.

 

‘’I don’t understand… we didn’t see any ship last night, and yet someone washes over our island the same night? It doesn’t make sense!’’

 

‘’Yes it’s weird, but there are plenty of possible explanations, maybe he had a dragon or maybe he found something to float on for miles…’’ She paused, remembering her own experience.*

 

‘’Hiccup! He’s waking up!’’ Fishlegs cried from inside the hut.

 

The couple met each other eyes with surprise before rushing inside. Toothless was ready to follow them but his rider stopped him right away.

 

‘’We don’t know what kind of relationship this man has with dragons, maybe its better if we could avoid frightening him. Sorry bud.’’   
  
The NightFury, a bit frustrated, went to pout next to the nearby huts. But he understood his rider’s decision.

 

Astrid and Hiccup for their part joined their friend inside.

 

The stranger was sitting on the edge of the bed, a hand reaching for his head.  
  
‘’Where am I?’’ He asked with a rough voice before he violently started coughing. Fishlegs brought him a cup of water, asking him to take it easy.

 

Meanwhile, Hiccup kneeled before him, his palms in plain sight to show him he meant no harm.

 

‘’My name is Hiccup, you are on our island. Fishlegs found you on the beach, unconscious.’’ He pointed at said rider who waved at the man shyly.

 

‘’Thank you.’’ The young man said, smiling at Fishlegs. He drank the cup in one go, meanwhile, the rest of the group entered the hut to gather around him. He looked at them curiously, as if he didn’t expect to see that much people. Hiccup felt his confusion.

 

‘’I present you the rest of the group, here’s Astrid.’’ She waved at him.

 

‘’Snotlout.’’

 

‘’Hey!’’

 

‘’Ruffnut.’’

 

‘’Hey handsome.’’ She purred while approaching way too close for anyone’s comfort. Hiccup groaned as he pushed her away before moving on with the presentations.

 

‘’And finally his brother, Tuffnut.’’

 

‘’Hey, is it true that you are not from Earth?’’ He asked, and Hiccup had to stop himself from face palming.

 

‘’I…Thanks to all of you for saving me.’’ The stranger said, visibly confused. He laid down his empty cup of the table before introducing himself.

 

‘’My name is Thoril, I’m an artist traveler.’’   
  
‘’Traveler? You mean like Johan?’’ Snotlout asked.

 

“Yes, like Johan.’’ Thoril confirmed.

 

‘’Wait, you know him?’’ Hiccup asked with surprise.  
  
‘’Yes, I often visited him to buy Yak oil for my fire show.’’  
  
‘’Fire shows? With explosions? What is your record?!’’ Tuffnut exclaimed, pushing everyone to face him.

 

‘’Sort of…I’m making all kind of demonstrations with any kind of weapon to entertain people.’’

 

‘’This sounds cool! Can we get a show too?’’ Snotlout asked him.

 

‘’Guys, I don’t think he’s in the mood right now…’’ Hiccup started before this could get out of control.

 

‘’No it’s alright, it would be my pleasure.’’ Thoril assured, making the others scream with joy.  
  
‘’You said you’re going from island to island, do you have a boat?’’ Hiccup asked carefully, not wanting to bring back painful memories or mention the dragons.

 

 ‘’I had one.’’ The man answered sadly. ‘’I was coming back from my last show when a group of person attacked my boat with their dragons. I managed to swim out.’’

 

‘’With dragons?’’ Astrid repeated.

 

‘’What kind of dragons?’’ Hiccup asked urgently.

 

‘’I don’t really know…They were large, with multiple wings. Their blast seemed to come out of multiple places at a time. I couldn’t do anything, my ship was wrecked.’’ He cried as he lowered his head.   
  
Hiccup placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

 

‘’I’m sorry.’’ He said before exchanging a worried glance with his teammates.

 

‘’It can only be the dragon hunters!’’ Exclaimed Snotlout.

 

‘’But why would they attack a traveler’s ship?’’ Fishleg asked himself, frowning.

 

‘’Did they tell you what they wanted?’’ Hiccup asked Thoril.

 

“They were after a trinket I received as gift during one of my performances… a kind of lens.’’ After hearing those words, the group members were speechless.

 

Hiccup immediately went to fetch a pencil and a piece of parchment to sketch a dragon eye lens.  Then he showed it to Thoril.

 

‘’A lens like this one?’’ The stranger nodded.

 

‘’Did they managed to seize it?’’ He asked urgently.

 

‘’I don’t know, I think I still had it when I jumped off the ship…but now I don’t have it anymore.’’ He explained, his voice trembling.

 

‘’Did it fall into the ocean?’’ When Thoril did not answer, Hiccup topped his question with a new one. ‘’Did they follow you? Thoril please it’s important, try to remember!’’ He pleaded.

 

Thoril clutched his head in his hands, clearly troubled.

 

‘’I’m sorry, I don’t know. I only remember the flames, the water and then nothing.’’ He cried.

 

Hiccup was about to ask another question when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he whirled around to face Astrid.

 

‘’I think that’s enough for today, we should let him rest.’’ She said firmly.

 

Hiccup’s eyes softened when he understood he went too far.

 

‘’You’re right, thank you Thoril. Call us if you need anything.’’

 

The man nodded slightly, still trapped in his memories as the group exited the hut. Their dragons rushed towards them, happy to see their trainers again.

 

‘’Okay everyone, no work for today.’’ Hiccup called. Snotlout and the twins exploded with joy as they heard this.

 

‘’However.’’ The chief insisted on the word to catch their attention again, ‘’I want you to stay on the edge and keep an eye on our guest okay?’’   
  
‘’No problem, I could watch him all day.’’ Purred Ruffnut, which made Astrid eye roll.

 

‘’Fine, we’ll see each other for lunch.’’ Hiccup announced, and the group dispersed, leaving him once again alone with Astrid.

 

‘’So…are you up for a flight with me and Stormfly?’’ She asked shyly, taking advantage of this time off to try to spend more time with him.

 

‘’Hum…yeah sure. But I have to finish a couple of things before.’’ He said, mounting Toothless.

 

‘’Do you want some help?’’ She proposed.

 

‘’No thanks, I just have to check something, it won’t take long, promise!’’ He shouted as he took off the platform. Not noticing the lowered shoulders of his partner or the disappointment that filled her face.

 

He even less heard her sigh ‘’Yeah, not long, as always…’’

 

She didn’t see her lover again all morning, since he decided to go on patrol avec checking up the beach. The group just finished the dishes when he finally showed up. Astrid decided to stay back and not welcome him.

 

‘’You’re all here, perfect.’’ He sighed, relieved.

 

‘’Like every midday Hiccup, and like every midday you’re not here.’’ She remarked coldly.  
  
The man frowned, not understanding why she was mad.   
  
‘’Astrid…’’ He started.

 

‘’Did you find anything?’’ She interrupted, clearly showing they weren’t having this conversation right now.

 

‘’Nothing at all, no hunter ship, not any debris on the shore.’’ He said, shaking his head.

 

‘’Isn’t it supposed to be good news?’’ Snotlout asked.

 

‘’Well, if Thoril really was attacked by hunters, don’t you think we should have at least seen a ship around?’’

 

‘’The attack probably took place at night’’ Fishlegs said, but Hiccup shook his head.

 

‘’Toothless and I didn’t see any ship last night.’’ The dragon crept closer, purring in agreement. He deliberately decided to leave out the light episode, since he wasn’t sure of what he saw.

 

‘’Yeah well he didn’t wash up on our island on his own!’’ Snotlout defended.

 

Something clicked in Hiccup’s head and his eyes widened.

 

‘’What if he did?’’ He proposed, his teammate’s reaction were understandable, crazy as it sounded.

 

‘’What?’’  
  
‘’Nonsense!’’

 

‘’Why would he no that?’’ Astrid asked.

 

‘’Think about it, if his ship really got pulverized, then the current that brought him to the shore should have brought debris with it.’’

 

‘’Maybe his ship sank much further away from the Edge.’’   
  
‘’In this case how could he have swam all the way to the Edge without drowning from exhaustion? Not to mention he doesn’t have any scratch, despite suffering the Singetails’ blows.’’ Hiccup argued.

 

‘’That’s not entirely true, he came to check on him a moment ago, he couldn’t stand because of his ankle.’’ Fishlegs spoke.

 

‘’He’s still in bed?’’

 

‘’Yes, he is exhausted, I came to bring him food but he was still in shock and couldn’t swallow anything.’’

 

“Poor thing, it hurts me to see him like this.’’ Ruffnut cried, bringing the back of her hand to her forehead. 

 

‘’Maybe he won’t even be able to spit fire…’’ Tuffnut murmured darkly.

 

‘’And you think he’s here to attack us or something.’’ Snotlout scoffed, gesturing to Hiccup.

 

‘’I’d rather not take away any possibility! This story doesn’t hold up. Viggo or even Krogan are perfectly capable to set up a plan like this to infiltrate our base.’’

 

‘’Or he was just here at the wrong time and you’re totally paranoid!’’ Snotlout shot back.

 

‘’I also think it’s too soon to bring up such accusations on him.’’ Astrid said, falling in with Snotlout

 

‘’Anyway, I don’t think he’s in shape of doing anything dangerous for now.’’ Fishlegs added.

 

Before so much resistance, Hiccup understood it was useless to try to reason with them anymore.

 

‘’Well, I really hope you’re right.’’   
  
‘’Don’t worry, our twintuition is always right!’’ Tuffnut said.

 

‘’Oh yeah!’’ Tuffnut agreed.

 

Hoping he at least managed to warn them, Hiccup pinched his lips and moved towards the exit.

 

On the way back to his hut, Toothless drew the attention of his trainer to a noise coming from it. As he heard it too, the young man drew out Inferno and marched to the main door. He signed his dragon to go through the side before pushing the door open. 

 

He found Thoril, his posture as frozen as the expression on his face. Hiccup’s gaze darted between the intruder and the wooden crates behind, was he searching them?

 

‘’What are you doing here?’’ He asked, tightening his grip on his weapon.

 

Toothless felt his trainer’s distrust and growled. Thoril jumped in surprise and gazed at the dragon with worry.

 

‘’I-I was looking for the other dragon riders.’’   
  
‘’Well as you can see there’s no one here. The clubhouse is the other way.’’ Hiccup pointed his thumb in its direction.   
  
Before the hostility of the viking and his dragon, Thoril grimaced and escaped the hut, taking care of knocking Hiccup’s shoulder as he did so.

 

The dragon rider clicked his tongue in annoyance as he watched the man stride away. Something was wrong, what if really was searching his hut?

 

Worry gripped his stomach as he ran to his desk, opening every drawer until he reached the last one. He quickly emptied it, throwing away the papers in every direction, scattering them everywhere in the room. Hiccup removed the bottom plank of the drawer, revealing the Dragon eye II prototype he was making.

 

He almost cried in relief and slumped in his chair, then he straightened up, noticing the mess he just made. In the middle of the papers scattered on the floor, Toothless was trying to catch the ones still flying.

 

Hiccup tenderly shook his head before picking up the plans of his last inventions. Then he sat down at his desk to continue the dragon eye. Toothless yawned before lying down on the ground, knowing his friend was going to stay here a moment. 

 

Neither of them noticed the forgotten parchment next to one of the crate which fluttered slightly in the breeze created by the dragon’s breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Astrid was referencing to RTTE S2 EP 2: Night of the Hunters
> 
> So, what do you think? Is Thoril really who he pretends to be? Has he something to do with the mysterious light he saw at the beach? Mhmm…


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some action here, nothing graphic, but still, be warned.

The next morning, Hiccup joined the riders at the clubhouse. They all were sitting in circle, listening attentively to Thoril who was perched on the table. The man had received a new set of clothes and his long hair was tied in a low ponytail.

''That's when I dodged the rain of arrows, jumping from rock to rock. It was an easy task since they could only shoot twenty of them at a time!'' He said proudly.

The chief kept quiet and leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms to listen to the rest of the story.

''Twenty arrow sounds like enough to me.'' Fishlegs squeaked.

"There's usually a lot more, but their dragon root stock must be running out with this weather."

Hiccup's eyes widened, dragon root cultures are very well hidden by the hunters, how could he possibly know about them? Let alone the fact that he seemed to know how to harvest them.

"So you crossed a river infested with eels, jumping from rock to rock while being chased by hunters?" Snotlout summed up.

''Yup.''

''Cool !'' Tuffnut exclaimed.

''I could teach you if you want.'' He said while twirling a spear—Thor knows where it came from—in his hand.

Hiccup decided it was the moment to step in.

''Sorry but it will have to wait. We have a lot of work to do.'' He cut through the cheering.

Everyone whirled around to look at him, eyes wide. He greeted them with a nod before looking up at Thoril, still standing on the table.

''Looks like you're feeling better.'' He said, his voice carrying a hint of sarcasm.

''Thank you, I owe your team a lot for that.'' He smiled at each one of them.

''Hiccup!'' Snotlout and the twins screamed as they rushed to him. He tried to step away but quickly found himself surrounded by the rest of the group.

''He has to stay! Absolutely!'' Ruffnut said.

''You bet! This guy is too cool!'' Her brother went one further.

Taken aback, Hiccup didn't know what to answer. He shot a look at the object of their conversation who jumped down the table.

''I'm going to let you discuss in private.'' The stranger announced before exciting the clubhouse, his spear still twirling expertly in his hands.

Hiccup waited as he did so before speaking.

''I don't think that's a good idea…'' He started, knowing already in advance what his teammates' reaction would be like.

''Hah! I knew it! Why do you always have to make everything so complicated?'' Snotlout complained.

''We barely know him! And do I have to remind you we still have the Edge to rebuild ? We don't have the time to babysit lone lost and fire breathing sailors.'' He grumbled the last sentence.

''He's not just a sailor, he's fighting the hunters, just like us!'' Astrid said.

''And we should not forget his implication with the dragon eye lens, he could have some information about the people who gave it to him.'' Fishlegs added.

''Precisely, he could lure the hunters to us, and that's the last thing we want right now!'' The brunet contested.

''I don't get it, you were complaining about not having enough riders to build up the edge. Well here he is!'' Snotlout said as he waved outside the clubhouse where Thoril was waiting.

''Okay, first, I'm not the one who was complaining. And two, Thoril is anything but a dragon rider.''

He paused, realizing something. The man didn't look that surprised when he saw Toothless yesterday.

''Did he see your dragons?'' He asked promptly.

''Actually yes, he woke face to face with Barf and Belch this morning.'' Fishlegs said as he glared at the twins.

''This morning…'' Hiccup mumbled, frowning.

He was pretty sure Thoril said he was looking for the 'dragon riders' last night, but could he had known if he officially saw the dragons this morning?

''What? He took it very well.'' Defended Ruffnut, cutting out short his thoughts.

''He said he was respecting the dragons, but was still scared of them. After the attack he suffered, that's not very surprising.'' Astrid added.

''Yeah, he is still shaken.'' Fishlegs said and Hiccup raised an eyebrow at that.

''He looked fine to me earlier, showing off on the table.''

''Hiccup!'' Astrid reprimanded.

''What?''

''He's not the first person we welcome in the group, or the island! You want to talk about Heather? Or Dagur?'' She reminded him.*

''Something is different this time, I can feel it.''

''Right, and I smell like fish.'' Ruffnut joked. Her brother leaned over her and sniffed.

'' Actually you do.'' Tuffnut said.

Hiccup ran a hand over his face, trying to keep his calm as the other's faces twisted in disgust.

''We could really use some extra help, I think he just need to change his mind anyway.'' Fishlegs resumed their conversation.

Hiccup looked at his friend, going from a pleading look to the other.

''I regret guys, it's a no!'' He crossed his arms to show he wouldn't go back on his decision.

And then he met Astrid determined gaze.

 

* * *

 

 

And that is how, at Hiccup's greatest displeasure, Thoril joined the dragon riders' team.

Things seemed go pretty well for him. So well that in less than a week, he already had his own hut. The chief understood then than his stay here was going to stretch out drastically. Which meant he would have to redouble in vigilance.

As he came back from patrol, the dragon rider spotted the group gathered under the dome. He asked Toothless to bring him there to see what was going on.

''Keep going, it's all about mental.'' Thoril encouraged.

Snotlout, Tuffnut an Fishlegs were all tree aligned, lifting heavy stones bag repetitively. Their faces were shining with sweat and each one of them seemed really focused, even Tuffnut.

''Uh, what are they doing?'' Hiccup asked Astrid and Ruffnut who were waiting on the side.

''Physical training.'' Asrid answered.

''Thoril says it can develop the muscles in the arms and in the _brain_.'' Tuffnut emphasized the last word, pointing her index fingers to her head.

''It's…slightly more complicated than that. But as a matter of fact it is very stress relieving, maybe more than axe throwing.'' Astrid smiled.

''…two, and one!'' Thoril counted down.

The tree boys practically dropped the weights as they settled them down. Snotlout tried as much as he could to appear in great shape while Tuffnut kissed his biceps. As for Fishlegs, he immediately sat down, exhausted. Thoril kneeled down to him and patted his back.

''See? You did it! I knew you were cable of it.''

''Thank you.'' He exhaled, offering a shy smile.

''Well done, Fishlegs!'' Astrid congratulated him, he gestured to her in return.

''Hey Astrid? Did you see my performance?'' Snotlout asked, laying his foot proudly on the bag of rocks which rolled, causing an inevitable fall.

''You did very well Snotlout, you too Tuffnut.'' Thoril congratulated, pulling the viking back up.

The coach then noticed Hiccup's presence and headed towards him.

''Hey, want to join the second group?''

Hiccup, a little surprised by the proposition, cleared his throat before answering.

'' No thank you, all this power display, it's not my kind of thing.''

''This exercises are made to strengthen up the body, but also the mind, so it's not only about strength.'' The young man explained as he handed the weights to Astrid and Ruffnut.

''Drop it Thoril, Hiccup is just scared to make a fool of himself, especially with the girls!'' Snotlout snickered.

''Yeah, just like the time Hiccup punched yo-'' Tuffnut began before Snotlout covered his mouth to stop him.

Astrid laughed at that, knowing exactly what he was referring to.*

''Fine, then maybe we could have a good old sword fighting, if it doesn't bother you to wait girls?'' Thoril proposed.

''No no, really I don't think-'' Hiccup started, but Astrid spoke over him.

''No problem, I think Hiccup could surprise you.'' She said confidently.

Hiccup whirled his head to face her, his eyes screaming at the betrayal, she held his gaze, silently telling him everything was going to be fine.

''Hiccup versus Thoril? I have to see this!'' Tuffnut exclaimed as he settled down next to the others.

''Yeah, I can't wait to see him loose.'' Snotlout said.

Before so much enthusiasm, Hiccup found himself alone once again. His shoulder slumped in defeat.

''Yes!'' Cheered Ruffnut.

''You can do it, Hiccup!'' Fishelegs encouraged him as the men were walking to the center of the dome.

Thoril pulled out a sword out of nowhere and positioned himself before speaking out the rules.

''One on one, no hit in the face or in the genitals, the first one to be disarmed and restrained loose, but the fight stops only when the one down tap the ground tree times ok?''

Hiccup gulped and nodded briefly, something told him it wasn't going to end well. He turned his head to Astrid who gave him a supporting smile.

He couldn't loose.

Suddenly filled with great motivation, he pulled out inferno, which triggered a surge of excitation within the dragon riders. The cheers and applauds drew the attention of the dragons outside, Toothless included.

 _'Great, now everyone is here… if only it could be the same to discuss the Edge's reconstruction plans.'_ He thought.

''Ready ? Go !'' Thoril announced before taking the first move.

Hiccup had barely the time to dodge it when tree other followed; the rider blocked the last one with his sword. They struggled against each other for a moment, his adversary was strong and fast, he had to admit. When Hiccup knew he couldn't get the upper hand, he loosened his sword before making a forward roll to avoid the other's sword.

''Go Hiccup!'' His teammates screamed at him.

When he heard his opponent running behind him, he kicked his leg, aiming for his legs, but this one just grabbed it and pulled it backward. Hiccup let out a shout of surprise as he slammed to the ground, then quickly rolled out of the way of the blade that was about to strike him.

The blade clanked on the ground with so much force that it made him wonder if Thoril was still aware that they were just training.

This one waited as Hiccup stood back up and caught his breath. He could already feel the drop of sweat sliding down his temples. His opponent however seemed perfectly fine.

''Shall we continue?'' This one teased.

Hiccup decided to strike first by way of answering, and the other man blocked his blow like the first time, but something felt different.

He gasped when he realized Thoril was holding his sword in a single hand, the other being hidden behind his back.

Not knowing if he was doing this for the sake of equity or simply to mock him. Hiccup charged several times, the clanking of metal resounded all over the dome. Not only once Thoril used his second hand to counterbalance the blows he received.

The young chief decided to suddenly land a punch instead. As if Thoril was waiting for this since the beginning, he finally shot down his other hand to catch his arm and twist it behind his back.

Hiccup let out a pained shout as his other hand dropped the sword.

''Oh no, that's not good!'' Fishlegs said with worry.

And he was right, in no time, Hiccup was held against Thoril's chest in a choke hold. His first instinct was to grab at his opponent's forearm to make him let go, but without success.

''You're unarmed and restrained, I suggest you to give up.'' Thoril said with a voice too stable for someone who was practically choking him.

''I- don't need your advice.'' He rasped, still clawing desperately at the arm.

''Are you sure? I can stay like this for hours, what about you?'' The man asked as he tightened his hold on him. Black spots started to fill his vision as he oxygen ran out, he could barely ear his teammates shout over the ringing in his ears.

''Is Hiccup's face supposed to be that color?'' Tuffnut asked, squinting.

''Mhm… I don't think so, dear brother.'' Ruffnut answered, as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

''He's losing, you bet he is blue in the face!'' Snotlout snickered.

''Come on Hiccup! You can do it!'' Astrid screamed.

That's when Hiccup used his prosthetic to crunch down his tormentor's foot, who screamed in agony as he released his hold just enough for him to slip through. Still disoriented, the chief tried to gain back his footing as he scanned the ground for inferno.

When he found it, he all but plunged to grab its handle, but once again Thoril was faster. The stranger put his foot on the sword, preventing Hiccup from taking it. The viking, from his half crouched down position, pulled at the handle to try to dislodge it. Thoril took advantage of it and spun to kick him by the shoulder. But Hiccup saw his leg shifting with the movement, and let go of the sword to throw himself at the ground, barely avoiding the kick.

The viking quickly spun to land a kick of his own, in his opponent's feet, making him land on the ground with a gasp.

At this moment, one couldn't really tell if they were still holding back.

For the first time, Thoril was on the ground. Hiccup, knowing it was his only chance, threw himself on top of him, gripping the other man's wrists to hold him down. His arms shook with the effort as the other struggled, from this moment he knew he couldn't hold it for long.

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately for him, their struggle was shorter than expected.

He sucked a breath as his adversary pushed his foot into his stomach, effectively lifting him as the other pulled at his forearms to make him topple forward. Hiccup cried out when he heavily landed on his back, he barely had time to roll onto his stomach that he felt the weight of Thoril on top of him. His right arm was once again twisted behind his back as he struggled. He tried to reach out for his sword with his free hand, but it was pushed away from his grasp.

Overcame by panic, Hiccup struggled harder, his muscles screaming as he frantically pushed on the ground with his legs and hit the other's side with his fist.

''So Hiccup, what are you going to do now?'' Thoril asked as he rearranged his victim's arm, tightening his grip as he did so.

Hiccup groaned and continued to try to free himself, refusing to loose this way. With every try he let out a pained breath, and with every try the other didn't move an inch. The viking hated himself for feeling so helpless, especially in front of his friends.

However, he was running out of options. To avoid further humiliation, he finally decided to put an end to this.

''Okay, that's enough.'' He exhaled as he tapped tree times on the ground. Immediately, he felt Thoril let go of him as well as his blood flow returning in his arm.

Snotlout booed as Ruffnut stood here, completely hypnotized by Thoril. Fishlegs, Astrid and Tuffnut rushed to their friend to congratulate him. Even though he barely heard them over the constant drumming in his ears.

''It was impressing, Hiccup, good job!'' Thoril complimented him as he offered him a hand.

Hiccup shot him a hard look before grabbing his sword and stand back up on his own, his muscles screaming with the effort.

''Yeah…happy I had you entertained.'' He mumbled sarcastically as he shot a quick glance at the other from where he stared at ground. He was used to loose fights quite a lot, but this time he couldn't help himself but feel utterly humiliated. He rubbed at his wrist, which probably was bruised right now.

''Are you okay?'' Astrid asked as she ran a hand on his back.

Strangely, her gesture only made him feel worse.

''I'm fine.'' He said promptly as he tore himself from her to head towards Toothless who was waiting for him at the entrance.

''You overcame yourself, Hiccup, I hope we can renew this someday!'' Thoril said, but every word sounded fake to the viking.

''Yeah, well, I have a lot of stuff to do, so…'' He half lied as he mounted his dragon, taking care of not crossing anyone's eyes. The only thing he wanted right now was to get away from here.

As they flew off, the dragon rider couldn't help but shoot a glance at the dome. Everyone had gathered around Thoril, probably to congratulate him on his performance. Unconsciously, he gripped the saddle harder, which made Toothless rumble softly in worry.

''I'm fine, bud.'' He smiled at his dragon, only it didn't quite reach his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *References in order : RTTE Familly on Edge (3x11) / ROB Heather Report (ep 10) / RTTE The Zippleback experience (2x06).


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter incoming! A lot of dialogue here… and drama..ohw.

Days went and Hiccup was more and more forced to handle the patrols alone, since the rest of the group would rather stay with Thoril to build the Edge back up. Even if it pained him to admit it, the man had proved himself rather useful for the most physical chores.

How could he have missed the opportunity to show off his strength and agility after all?

Snotlout was won over in every instance. Regularly, the two of them would train together. Ruffnut would always sit close by for that matter, and Hiccup was pretty sure none of them were really aware of that.

It's not like he had a problem with the twins anyway, since he found him in their hut this morning.

''That's it, press it gently.'' He heard from outside.

He frowned slightly before entering the hut where he found Thoril and Ruffnut squeezing a plant above a recipient Tuffnut was holding. A transparent liquid seeped from it and dripped into the pot.

''Cool !'' Tuffnut marveled

''Huh guys? Weren't you supposed to fill the Monstrous Nightmare gel's stock you burned last week back up?'' Hiccup interrupted, placing his hands on his hips.

''Would you believe it, my dear Hiccup, it's exactly what we are going right now!'' Ruffnut said proudly.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at that, unimpressed.

''Yeah, we found something ten times cooler than Monstrous Nihtmare gel! This magic oil,'' he showed the bottle, forcing Thoril to quickly fetch another to gather the liquid, ''can catch fire in one instant!''

''So, no more Monstrous Nightmare gel needed!'' Ruffnut concluded.

''I discovered this plant during one of my travels, it saved me more than once.'' Thoril told him.

Hiccup prevented himself from rolling his eyes, or course it was _his_ idea.

''Okay, so where are you going to plant all of them?'' He asked, gesturing to the pile of plant behind them.

''Oh, that's only one part of the crop! We already planted them all over the island.'' Ruffnut said.

''What?! If this plant is really inflammable, isn't it a bit dangerous to plant it everywhere, because of -oh I don't know… fire breathing dragons?'' Hiccup said incredulously, throwing his arms out to illustrate his point.

"No risk, the plant only reveals its active ingredients once the oil is extracted, if a dragon accidentally ignites it, there will be plenty of time to handle it''. Thoril explained.

"You're forgetting we're talking about twins, we can't leave these explosive things all over the place, believe me!'' Hiccup retorted as he crossed his arms.

"It's not cool, Hiccup, the one time we were doing something good...'' Tuffnut pouted.

"Don't worry, bro, he just doesn't understand our genius.'' His sister comforted as she took him outside.

"I think the more you keep forbidding them everything, the more they'll want to blow things up.'' Thoril spoke calmly.

"Yes, because you've known them for so long that you know how they work.'' Hiccup says sarcastically.

"I've known them for long enough to see that they don't get enough consideration from their leader.'' Thoril replied with a frown.

Hiccup visibly tensed at that.

"I know my teammates, their qualities, their limits. But if you need a little demonstration then go ahead, install flammable plants everywhere! See what happens!'' He says, stomping towards the exit.

"You'll know where to find me when the situation is out of control!'' He added before disappearing from his sight.

* * *

But Thoril was certainly not going to stop there and intended to share his knowledge of plants with everyone, especially Fishlegs. The latter was more than happy to learn more about medicinal plants, in return he shared his extensive knowledge of dragons, especially the Gronks.

"It's impressive, everything you know about dragons.'' Thoril complimented him as he dug into the ground.

"Oh, my knowledge of dragons is nothing compared to Hiccup's.'' Fishlegs replied by gently placing the plant in the fresh new hole.

Thoril stopped digging and wiped his forehead.

"Did he teach you everything?

"On how to train them, yes. But I did study the habits of new species on my own. I regularly manage to complete the book of dragons thanks to my researches!'' He says proudly.

"What book?'' Thoril asked, and Fishlegs froze, embarrassed. He didn't know if he was supposed to talk about it or not...

Under the insistent gaze of his guest, Fishlegs quickly broke.

"The book of dragons, it lists all the dragon species, their eating habits, their habitats... ''

"Oh, that's great! And where is this book now?

"In Hiccup's hut, why?'' Asked the dragon trainer, raising his eyebrows. But Thoril ignored his question.

"Why is it Hiccup who keeps the book if you're the one completing it?''

"Well, because he's our leader, and he uses the information to prepare the missions.'' Fishlegs replied, as if it was obvious.

"It's not normal, if you're the one filling out the book, you should be the one giving the directions, why give all the credit to Hiccup?''

"Well, I don't know... He's good at it, and maybe…Maybe he doesn't trust me?'' Fishlegs asked sadly.

"There's only one way to find out, ask him to keep the book of dragons.'' The other man suggested.

"I don't know if that's a good idea..." The blond hesitated.

"Fishlegs,'' Thoril said firmly, grabbing his two shoulders, "you have the right to own this book, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.''

Fishlegs returned a confident look at his friend and nodded.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup was at the clubhouse doing research on the plant Thoril brought back to the twins. He chewed his cold fish as he read, everything he had explained about its properties was true, but he couldn't find the page indicating where this plant was growing, maybe Fishlegs had lost it?

And speaking of the devil, the blond just came in to join him.

"Hey Hiccup, what are you doing?'' He asked in a trembling voice.

He seemed anxious.

"Oh, some researches on the inflammable plant. About that, you didn't forget the page about where it grows, didn't you?

"No, Thoril filled out the card, as I've never seen this plant before...''

"Okay, then I'll ask him, no problem.'' Hiccup replied by putting the cards away.

Fishlegs in the meantime was not moving an inch except for his leg which trembled nervously. Hiccup noticed right away and pressed his lips together before talking.

"Is there something you... would you like to talk to me about?'' He asked cautiously.

"I'dliketokeepthebookofdragons!'' Fishlegs spoke so quickly that he understood only part of the sentence, but it was the most important one.

"You want the book of dragons?'' He reformulated, and his teammate nodded sharply.

"I'm able to handle the book alone, since I'm the one who fills it out, I have the right to keep it!''

Hiccup, a little taken aback by this request, tried to calm his friend down.

"I'm sorry Fishlegs, but you know how dangerous this book can be in the wrong hands.''

"You don't believe I can keep him safe, do you?'' Fishlegs looked him right in the eye.

"I didn't say that, but I'd rather keep it close to me, just in case.'' Hiccup explained.

His friend shook his head, the corner of his lips facing down and his eyes full of pain.

"I thought you trusted me more than that..." He said as he left. Hiccup, not understanding his reaction, began to follow him.

"Fishlegs, wait!''

"No, it's okay, I've got the message.'' His friend answered him firmly before flying away with Meatlug, leaving him alone and shaken.

 _'_ _What just happened?'_ He thought

It was at this moment that Astrid and Stormfly arrived. When he saw them, a weight was lifted from his chest. The sensation lasted only a moment when he saw the expression of anger on his fiancé's face.

"Hey Astrid, are you all right?'' He asked as she hoped down from her dragon and drew her axe.

But why was she walking towards him with her axe brandished like that? She screamed with rage before planting her axe not far from Hiccup's feet, who protected his face with his forearms.

"You dare ask me if I'm all right? I waited for you all afternoon!''

Hiccup relaxed his posture but remained ready to block further blows.

"What do you mean, waited for me? I've been busy all day, you know that.'' He really didn't understand what she was talking about.

"What about this? You wrote it yourself! I'm sure you'd already forgotten the moment you sent it to me..." She waved a piece of parchment in front of his eyes, he took it and started reading.

"Meet me at the waterfalls on Melody Island, signed Hiccup- I never wrote that!'' He protested, which seemed to make her more angry.

"If it's not you, then who is it? No one here can imitate your handwriting!''

"No one.'' He confirmed. "Except..." He whispered to himself. Who else but Thoril could have done such a thing?

Astrid shook her head, disconcerted with her boyfriend's negligence.

"I don't know what I was hoping for anyway, you think so much about dragons and the Edge that you don't spend any more time with the group... with me.'' She complained.

"That's not true! We often meet, it's just that there's a lot of things to—'' Astrid cut off his excuses.

"How long has it been since you last ate at the clubhouse with us?''

"Uh..." Strangely enough, Hiccup couldn't remember it, but Astrid answered in his place.

"Three weeks! Three weeks since I bring you meals in your hut everyday and hope you notice.'' She said sadly.

Suddenly Hiccup felt bad, he had of course noticed the meal trays on the table, and he had never taken the time to thank her.

"Astrid, I'm sorry..." He said, reaching for her.

"Me too.'' She says coldly as she takes her axe back, while taking care of avoiding any contact with him. This simple action was like a knife to the stomach for Hiccup.

What has he done?

Astrid adjusted Stormfly's saddlebags before turning to him. He swore her eyes were filled with tears.

"Maybe you didn't write that message, but I wish you did.'' She said, her voice breaking.

Hiccup was frozen on the spot as he watched her leave. And found no words to stop her, the rider just lowered his head and clenched his fists.

He stood here for a long time before returning in his hut.

He had never felt so exhausted, so much he decided not to work on the dragon's eye and collapsed on his bed instead.

However, he had trouble sleeping, the words of Astrid and the other still clouding his mind. Toothless purred as he approached the bed, his trainer smiled and scratched behind his ear. His dragon seemed to be the only one on the island who didn't blame him.

He had to settle all this, talk to his team, and fast.

* * *

The next morning, he went to the Zen garden hoping to find Fishlegs there. But he was quite surprised at who he found instead.

Astrid and Thoril training hand to hand.

Both exchanged blows with vigor, judging by their soaked clothes and their laborious breathing, they had been there for a while. Astrid finally managed to bring Thoril down, announcing the end of the fight.

"Okay, okay, that was great, you're progressing really fast!'' The young man congratulated her as he propped up on his elbows.

"I have a good teacher.'' Astrid replied by holding out a hand. She screamed in surprise when he grabbed her and pulled her forward, making her fall over him. He then placed himself over her, one hand on each of her shoulders.

"You've let your guard down again.'' Thoril reprimanded heartily, his face too close to hers for Hiccup's comfort.

The two fighters then noticed the presence of a third person. Astrid, visibly embarrassed, quickly broke free and smoothed out her clothes.

Hiccup was frozen on the spot, an unknown feeling ran right through him from side to side, like a mixture of anger and despair.

"Hiccup! Do you want to train with us?'' Thoril asked, the stranger was in no way embarrassed by the situation.

"You seem to be doing very well without me.'' He replied coldly before deciding that he had seen enough.

He thought he heard Astrid call him, but he continued to walk back to his hut on foot. Thoril managed to catch him at the clubhouse and grabbed his arm. The Viking's reaction was immediate.

"Leave me alone!'' He shouted as he ripped his arm out of his grip.

"What's going on?'' Thoril asked.

"What's going on? Oh, nothing! A stranger arrives out of nowhere on our island, freely accesses our equipment, our knowledge without anyone seeing any inconvenience!'' He replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Look, I understand that you don't trust me, but I never intended to hurt you..." The stranger replied by raising his hands as if to prove his point.

"And I'll make sure that doesn't happen, don't worry.'' Hiccup says firmly.

"Something tells me that's not the real problem.'' Thoril insisted, clearly determined to get things straight.

"Well, I suppose you can read minds in addition to fighting eels with your bare hands?'' Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's about Astrid, isn't it?''

His body stiffened just by hearing the question.

"What about Astrid?'' He asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"You're in a relationship, right?

"It's none of your business..." Hiccup looked away.

"She's incredible, you're very lucky.'' Faced with the silence of the dragon trainer, the stranger continued,"And it's true that she and I get along well, but we're just friends, that's all. At least from my point of view...''

The young man looked up with surprise. _'How dare he?'_

"Okay.'' He began as he reduced the gap between him and Thoril, his index finger pointing towards him.

"I don't know what you're playing at, but know that here, you're a _stranger_. And until you prove yourself, you are neither her ally nor her combat partner, much less her friend. With her or everyone else!'' Hiccup spat, his voice had reached a dangerously high level.

"What, because you decided to?'' Thoril replied, surprised by the excess anger coming from the other man.

"Exactly!

"So that's how you run things huh? Your friends see you as a fair leader, but not me. You push them to their limits without listening to what they have to say to you!'' The stranger criticized.

"If I push them so hard, it's for them, to prepare them for difficult times!'' Hiccup explained, trying not to leave room for guilt.

"By making choices for them?

"Some choices are difficult to make, kicking you off the island won't be one.''

The two rivals turned their heads when they heard a gasp of horror. All the dragon riders were there, for how long, no one could tell.

Thoril took the opportunity to leave, obviously upset with the leader's last words.

"Nooo!'' Ruffnut cried as she fell to her knees dramatically.

"How can you!'' Her brother outraged.

"You want him to leave?'' Snotlout asked, dumbfounded.

Just as he thought the situation couldn't be more unpleasant.

"Guys... We can't trust him!'' He told them by gesticulating towards Thoril's hut, "We can't let him walk around with you know who in the wild.''

"Who? "Viggo?'' Tuffnut asked, making the chief face palm.

"Shh! You shouldn't have said that! That's the purpose of the game. You know who knows who knows about the one who... knows.'' Ruffnut did not finish his sentence, plunged into confusion.

"It doesn't matter if he knew it or not... Were you really going to kick him off the island without telling us?!'' Astrid stepped in.

"Astrid..." Hiccup began, before being interrupted by Snotlout.

"He's jealous, that's why.''

"What? Nonsense!''

"Oh, come on, Thoril is just better than you and you can't stand it!''

"What do you mean, better than me?'' He asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, you know, nicer, stronger, smarter..." Tuffnut listed each fact with his fingers.

"Brawnier." Ruffnut added lovingly.

"Okay, that's enough. Don't you find it weird that he has absolutely no flaws?''

"And why is that a problem? You have to stop seeing evil all around, Hiccup.'' Astrid reprimanded.

"Not to mention, he's helped us many times.'' Fishlegs went one further.

"Precisely, he invents training sessions in which our dragons are never involved! He's trying to distract you.''

"Didn't it cross your mind that it maybe was exactly what we needed?'' Astrid asked.

"Well… Statistically, the group has never been so cohesive since Thoril arrived.'' Fishlegs observed a little timidly.

"Yeah, truth is the only problem here is you!'' Snotlout pointed his index finger at Hiccup.

"Me?!'' He couldn't believe it.

"Yes, you! You just can't stand that Thoril is a better leader than you are. I know that, you felt the same with me.'' Snotlout added cockyly.

"All right, if I'm the problem, then I'm leaving.'' Hiccup said as he threw his arms up in the air in frustration. He had enough of this.

"But don't you dare tell me I didn't warn you!'' He added before leaving.

"Yeah, that's right, good riddance!'' Cries Snotlout.

"Snotlout!" Astrid hissed as she hit his arm.

"Ouch, what?"

The group watched their leader leave, each one of them more or less upset by the discussion they had just had.

But everyone knew who was the most upset of them.

* * *

For several days, Hiccup preferred to avoid the others and set up the last defenses outside the Edge. Several times he passed over the huts with Toothless, each time trying to ignore the high activity below.

However, there came a time when the base began to transform so much he couldn't ignore it anymore. The chief decided to take advantage of his friends' absence to take a closer look.

"Let's see what they're up to.'' He told his dragon, who let out a cry of acquiescence.

The two friends flew over large metal gutters that overlooked the huts thanks to thin pillars. Strangely, this kind of construction was not foreign to Hiccup, but he did not immediately know why.

All the gutters converged to a large tank, visibly filled with water, which was placed on a freshly built wooden platform. He landed next to it, thus did not notice Thoril approaching towards him as he descended from Toothless' back.

"Hi Hiccup, do you like our new fire system?''

The rider jumped in surprise and turned to him. Judging by the tone of his voice, the young man did not seem to take into account their last confrontation. And even if it wasn't the same for him, Hiccup decided to remain cordial.

"Yes, that's exactly the kind of structure..." He trailed of, looking up once more. The blacksmith didn't know if it was because of the new angle, but he had clearly seen it somewhere.

"That I would have imagined..." He whispered the end of his sentence, and suddenly it clicked in his head.

He had imagined this system, the tank, the trapdoor system to release the water in the gutters, the rocking system to pour the water over any huts on fire...

"Not bad, huh? It's practically an automatic system, all you need to do is-'' The impostor began to explain before he was cut off.

"I know how it works since I invented it.'' Hiccup said dryly, forgetting his desire to remain cordial.

Something illuminated Thoril's gaze, defiance or satisfaction, he didn't really know. He also noted the way the corner of his mouth was raised, as if he had decided to build this fire system only to provoke him.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup, I thought I was doing the right thing.'' He said, feigning innocence.

"By stealing my plans? How did you even get them?'' He did his best to keep his voice calm, but his body was sending a lot of opposite signals.

"Fishlegs lent them to me, he trusts me enough to take care of the work.''

"Fishlegs put his trust in people too easily..." He whispered, but not low enough for not being heard over.

"Is that why you refuse to give him the book of dragons?'' The other asked, crossing his arms.

Upon hearing this question, Hiccup's eyes narrowed in fury. His friend's reaction a few days ago really was out of character, he blamed it on fatigue, but now everything was clear.

"You're the one who put that idea in his head!'' He thought out loud.

"He just wants to prove himself, like every one of them.''

"But they don't—'' He sighed angrily, trying to calm down, "They don't need to prove anything to me. You've only been here two weeks, what are you even trying to do?''

"There's no need to stay long to see that your team is falling apart.''

"Thanks to your efforts, yes, but we're stronger than that.'' Hiccup assured him.

"Do you want to know what I saw during those two weeks?'' The other asked, he didn't give him time to answer before continuing.

"An absent leader, who no longer has an ounce of consideration for his team, who only gives orders before disappearing, who does not listen to the requests of his teammates, even the most intimate.'' Thoril could not hide his lopsided grin when he referred to Astrid.

Hiccup was boiling from the inside. He knew it, he was the one who imitated his writing.

"She knows I'm not the one who wrote it.'' He defended himself, but this only made his interlocutor giggle.

"This piece of paper was only used to push poor Astrid to tell you what was wrong, but obviously it wasn't enough to open your eyes.'' Thoril sighed dramatically before continuing his monologue.

"What a pity, she stays alone days and nights, spending her time waiting for you, sending you signal after signal in vain. You're slowly losing her, but you don't notice anything.''

Hiccup felt his heart beat faster and faster as the other threw one sentence after the other. His fists clenched without him noticing, and his nostrils flared.

"Don't worry, when you break her heart, I'll be there to take care of her.''

That was the one sentence too many.

With a scream of rage, he began to reduce the distance between him and Thoril, his fist raised. Suddenly a black curtain fell in front of him, Toothless' wing blocked his way, he turned to his dragon who purred sadly.

"You should listen to the dragon, what would your friends think if I told them you attacked me for no reason?'' The brunet asked him with a satisfied look, as if he had been expecting such a reaction from the beginning.

"They'll eventually find out you turned them against me.'' He growled, trying as best he could to calm down. He wasn't supposed to play into his hands.

The dragon lowered his wing when he saw that his rider had calmed down.

"The more you will try to prove that I am your enemy, the deeper you will sink. Don't make that mistake or you'll lose them forever.'' Thoril says sadly.

"I won't let you hurt them.''

"Who said anything about hurting them?''

Hiccup help Thoril's gaze for a long time, trying to discern a muscle movement, a glint in his eyes that could betray his sad expression.

What if he's wrong? If one could prove that Thoril was not dangerous, what would he look like to his teammates?

"Well, if there's nothing else you want to tell me, I'll go get some rest.'' The stranger interrupted his thoughts.

Hiccup's throat was so tight that he didn't answer and stared at the ground instead. With a scream of frustration, he suddenly kicked a rock, surprising Toothless who purred sadly.

 _'_ _This week couldn't get any worse.'_ He thought.

Only Thor knew how wrong he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meheheheh…..
> 
> Sooooo what do you think? Did you change your mind on Thoril? Next chapter might confirm your hypothesis if you have one, or completely change it… xD


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING : fire, injuries but nothing graphic.

Hiccup was determined to settle this matter once and for all.

For a good part of the night, he went through all the possible scenarios in his head, without advancing in his reflection. Too many questions remained unanswered, and if he wanted answers, he had no choice; he would have to go and get them himself.

Starting with searching Thoril's hut.

After all, the other one apparently had no problem searching his own.

He decided to leave without Toothless to avoid drawing attention and took advantage of the fact that the others were all gathered at the clubhouse to begin his research.

The Viking pushed the door open, surprised to see that he would not have to pick the lock. The place was small, only furnished with a bed, a bathtub and a wardrobe. At first sight, the place seemed in order, even a little too much. When he closed the door behind him, the blacksmith was surprised to see a large number of weapons hanging behind it. But what was even stranger was that he didn't remember forging this type of weapon, would Thoril have made them himself? He was pretty sure he was the only one who had the key to the forge.

He decided to push this matter aside and move on to the rest of the visit; he looked under the bed, pushed aside the bathtub, and opened each wardrobe drawer, nothing.

His heart jumped when he heard the click of the door being opened.

Panicked, Hiccup stepped into the wardrobe and closed the doors behind him. Through the gap between them, he saw Thoril standing at the entrance, frozen on the spot, his hand still on the handle.

Hiccup slapped a hand against his mouth and held his breath. If he found him here and told others, he would never be able to regain their trust.

After what felt like an eternity, Thoril finally moved. Only instead of leaving, he grabbed a weapon.

The young Viking, having sworn that he had seen him look in his direction, felt his heart sink into his stomach. Fortunately, instead of coming at him, the stranger simply left the hut and closed he door behind him.

Hiccup waited until he was sure he wouldn't come back before he stepped out. Placing a hand to his chest, he let out a breath, as if he had been holding it for hours.

_'_ _It was a bad idea to come here.'_

The Viking headed to the door to leave, but when he pulled at the handle, the door stayed shut. He froze, realizing what was happening. He tried again but harder this time, the door was definitely blocked.

_'_ _Really a bad idea.'_

He looked around him with concern, looking for another way out. There was no other door and the windows were too high, even if he could reach them, he would have nothing to help him down once he would be outside.

The rider didn't know if it was because of the stress, but the air was getting heavier and warmer. He wiped the drops of sweat on his forehead before searching his pockets for the tools he had brought to break into the hut.

He then started picking the lock for long minutes but without effect. Meanwhile, white smoke filled the hut, tearing from the young man coughing fits more and more frequently. When he finally noticed it, he frowned, wondering what could cause this. Then came the cracking of the wood all around him, and the heat that was only rising, and finally, the first flames that slipped between the planks.

His eyes widened in shock, and his throat tightened.

The hut was taking fire, with him still trapped inside.

"No… No, no, no, no, no, no!''

Faced with the horror of his situation, he tried again to at pull the door, only to burn his hand when it touched the metal handle. He screamed in pain as he backed away, his eyes stung from the smoke and his clothes were soaked in sweat.

He had to get out of here, fast.

The young man then grabbed an axe hanging in front of him. If he couldn't go through the lock, then he would have to go trough the whole door.

With each blow, the axe sank into the wood, creating thin slits. Hiccup tried to always hit the same spot, hoping at least to create an opening. But before the thickness of the door, his efforts were hopeless.

"Come on!''

He didn't dare to look behind him, where the flames already settled and advanced dangerously towards him.

In an outburst of rage and frustration, he threw one last but not the least powerful blow. The blade dug deeply into the wood, making the other weapons still hanging on the door fall, the sharp clattering of the metal creating a strong contrast with the muted roar of the flames.

Hiccup tore the axe out of the door and threw it to the side with a scream of frustration. His labored breaths reflected the unbearable heat of the room, there was so much smoke that he could barely see anything. Pieces of the roof began to fall, almost crashing on him.

In a last action guided by despair, he threw himself at the door, banging his fists with all his might.

"Help-'' He started, coughing very hard as carried the tip of his tunic to his mouth.

"Toothless!'' He shouted as he banged on the burning door again, the flames already began to lick his clothes.

He was going to burn alive, it wasn't possible, he couldn't-

An almost inhuman wail escaped his lips as he slid down the hard surface, his forces abandoning him completely. The flames danced all around him, taunting him, very quickly his knees gave out and the viking fell to the side. He felt tears running down his cheeks, moistening his burning eyes. A new coughing fit shook his whole being, as if his body was still trying to fight, only he didn't even have the strength to get up.

His field of vision began to narrow, fulfilling his silent wish to pass out before the flames consumed him. He felt so ashamed to leave like that, to leave them all, and because of what?

Before unconsciousness claimed him, he heard a very loud noise that seemed to shake the whole hut.

* * *

"But what was he doing in Thoril's hut then?''

"It's not like him to do that, he hasn't been himself for a while.''

"Maybe it was an accident?

"Oh please, we all know how desperate he is to get Thoril off the island!''

"To the point of risking his life?''

The voices gradually unraveled, taking over the whistling in his ears. As a precaution, he kept his eyes closed for fear of seeing the flames again.

"He's waking up!''

_'_ _Wait, the flames?'_

Suddenly everything came back to him, he opened his eyes and straightened up as he coughed loudly, a hand then tapped on his back.

"Hey, easy, easy.'' Astrid whispered.

He took a moment to look around, apparently he was in his hut. He had no time to take more information as Toothless appeared in his field of vision, licking his face fervently.

Hiccup laughed softly as he stroked his dragon, showing him that he was happy to see him too. Meanwhile, Snotlout and Fishlegs joined Astrid at his bedside.

"How do you feel?'' Asked Fishlegs, handing him a glass of water he drank in one go.

His throat was so dry, as if he had swallowed sand, and his right hand was throbbing, just like his head. But he was alive, and for that he couldn't complain.

"Fine, thank you.''

"You know, this was really close, like, _really_.'' Snotlout remarked.

"What happened? Astrid asked.

"I..." He started, but shame prevented him from continuing, if he told them that he was searching Thoril's hut... Unconsciously, he lowered his head, and fidgeted with the bandage around his hand.

"Hiccup.''

He looked up and his eyes found Fishlegs', it was as if he was searching his face **.** His frown aggravated the confused expression his face carried.

"Did you set fire to Thoril's hut?'' His friend asked cautiously.

Hiccup remained frozen for a few seconds, repeating the question in his head.

"What? No! Of course not!'' How could he even think he was capable of such a thing?

That's when Thoril and the twins entered the hut.

"Fire under control!'' Tuffnut celebrated.

"Yeah, even if there's nothing left..." Ruffnut precised.

"Yes, it looks like your boss got what he wanted.'' Thoril said as he looked towards the bed, his brown eyes widened slightly, as if he was surprised to see him already awake.

Hiccup understood then that this fire was definitely not an accident, and that the man who was walking towards him had everything to do with it. He sat up straight, not wanting to show a single sign of weakness in front of his attacker.

"Why did you do that?'' Thoril asked in a deep voice.

"Because he wants you to leave!'' Snotlout answered in his place.

"What? Do you really think I would have done something like that?'' He asked, surprised that no one would stand up for him.

"The hut didn't ignite itself!'' Snotlout contested.

"It sure didn't, but if you want explanations, why don't you ask the fire breather over there?'' Hiccup tilted his head in the direction of Thoril, giving him a warning look.

The man held his gaze, but the chief didn't miss the twitch in his right eye.

"Why would he set fire to his own hut?'' Asked Ruffnut before anyone else could speak.

"Well, it's happened to us quite a few times.'' Her brother remarked.

"He knew I was inside, he locked me in and set fire to the house.'' Hiccup continued his accusation, looking at the main suspect.

"It's absurd.'' Denied Thoril, turning his head away.

"Hiccup, he's the one who saved you from the flames.'' Astrid says slowly, looking at him in a funny way, as if he had lost his mind.

He turned to her with a mixture of sadness and atonishment illuminating his eyes. She didn't believe him either. It was his word against a stranger's, it seemed so unreal to him that he needed to justify himself so much.

"He saved me so he wouldn't be suspected! Astrid, you know I can't do such a thing!'' She looked at him, frowning. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded weakly.

"Yeah, that's right. Yesterday you wanted Thoril to leave the island, and the next day his house magically caught fire!'' Snotlout got angry.

"And how do you explain the fact that I stayed inside if I was the one who burned down his hut?'' Hiccup asked raising an eyebrow.

"I saw you come into my hut and set it on fire. The only reason you got stuck was because debris blocked the door. If I hadn't come to your rescue, you wouldn't be here to falsely accuse me.'' Thoril said with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, what a happy coincidence that you happened to pass by when your hut started to catch fire.'' Hiccup replied ironically.

"Since I was going _home_ , was it really a coincidence?''

"What were you doing in his hut anyway?'' Astrid interrupted their exchange.

The chief's shoulders lowered, he had to tell them the truth.

"I wanted to make sure Thoril wasn't a threat, and for that I needed to inspect his hut..." He whispered the last sentence.

"Hah! I knew it! He keeps trying to turn us against him. What happened next? You couldn't find anything to blame him for, so you thought setting a fire would be more effective?'' Snotlout mocked.

The fact that Snotlout was accusing him of doing exactly what Thoril has been doing to him for weeks could not have better illustrated the irony of his situation.

"I can't believe it, you went alone to inspect his hut without telling us about it?!' Astrid asked, incredulous.

"I've tried to talk to you about it, but no one would listen!''

"You're the one who doesn't want to listen, each of us spent more time with Thoril in one day than you did with him in two weeks. If we tell you he's not dangerous, why don't you just believe us?!

"Because he doesn't trust you.'' Thoril stepped in, which raised Hiccup's tension to a notch.

"Trust me, you're the only one I don't trust in this room.'' He growled.

"Oh, yeah? Allow me to doubt it.'' Fishlegs contradicted him, obviously still angry because of the dragon book.

"He saved your life, and still you treat him like a criminal, is that not enough of an evidence to you?'' This time it was final, she was on Thoril's side.

"Astrid..." He started, but she got up from bed shaking her head.

"I was worried sick about you! You could have died in there, and for what? Because for once you don't want to admit that you were wrong?!''

"What if I'm right? What if one day he turns against us? What would you do then, huh? Would you use the techniques you learned with him during your private training?!'' He wanted to take away his last words as soon as they left his mouth, but when he saw the disgusted look on Astrid's face he knew it was too late.

Furious, she stomped outside the hut, pushing Snotlout on the way.

"No, Astrid, I'm sorry, wait!'' He called her, trying to get up from bed, only to be stopped by a hand on his chest.

"I think it's better if you stay here.'' Fishlegs told him firmly.

"I'm fine!'' Hiccup told him while pushing his friend away.

"I'm not saying that for you.'' These words had the same effect on him as a punch in the stomach, his whole team was angry with him, he no longer had any control over the situation.

"Do you think she went to get her axe?'' Tuffnut asked.

"In case of doubt, I suggest we stay away from the target.'' Ruffnut replied, moving her brother away from the bed.

"Yeah, good idea!'' Screamed Snotlout as he ran after them.

There was only Thoril and Hiccup left in the room. He didn't even see that Fishlegs had left the scene too. The silence weighed between the two rivals, Hiccup's gaze was fixed on the exit door, his fist clutched the blanket so tightly that the bandage cut off his circulation.

He felt betrayed and angry, it wasn't the first time there were conflicts in the team, but this time felt different. It was as if he was close to reach a point of no return.

And judging by his team's behavior towards him, it seemed that this point had already been reached.

"Why are you doing this? What are you looking for?'' He asked, turning his head towards Thoril, his eyes shining with anger.

"I told you, the more you try to make me look like the enemy, the deeper you sink.'' He replied nonchalantly, as if he was resonating with a child.

"I'll end up proving that you're not the one you pretend to be.''

"You think it's easy for me, don't you?'' Thoril hissed between his teeth as he leaned over the bed. "I lost everything, my boat, my job! I only have this place left!

"You could have rebuilt a boat, left, why didn't you?''

"Because I found what I was really looking for here.''

"And what is that?'' Hiccup asked **.**

"A chance to be free, to live without fear of tomorrow.'' Thoril replied, his gaze seemed lost, as if he was immersing himself in memories.

He didn't seem to be lying, which made the chief even more confused. He shook his head and frowned.

"Why don't you just tell us who you really are?'' He asked in a surprisingly soft voice.

"I'm the one who's asking you to stop looking for answers!'' The stranger begged him.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. Not while my team is potentially in danger.'' Hiccup answered firmly. In response Thoril shook his head in exasperation.

"Stay away from this, just like them, and no one will get hurt.'' Thoril advised him as he headed towards the exit.

Apparently he was done with this conversation, but Hiccup was not.

"Is that a threat?''

The stranger stopped at the door, and without turning around, he answered.

"A warning.''

"I'll end up finding out what you're up to, and when I do, you won't have any choice but to explain to me what's going on!'' He shouted after Thoril as he continued his way out of the room.

The wounded man then found himself alone with his dragon sleeping peacefully next to him.

He got up from bed, a little wobbly, the weight of the last week pulling on each of his muscles. Regardless of the consequences, he was determined to protect his team, with or without their support.

Toothless' ears perked up when he heard his trainer get up and come out.

Hiccup stared at the horizon, trying to ignore the growing apprehension contracting his stomach. It was as if all this was just the beginning, as if Thoril's plan went further than just separating him from the team.

The foreigner's goal did not seem to get rid of him, otherwise he would have let him burn. No, his only desire was to stay, but why?

He said he had found a chance to be free here. Was he a prisoner before? Was he trying to hide on their island? From whom? And for what reason?

He ran a hand over his face, not knowing what to think. If Thoril was really telling the truth, then he needed their protection. Expelling him from the island would probably send him to certain death, especially since he knew far too much about their base now.

One thing was certain, the dragon rider would get nothing out of him by continuing to act defensively.

It was time to play a little nicer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fire scene was probably totally unrealistic, I'm sorry, I didn't dare to do researches on the subject. Not so proud of this chapter because of that :(
> 
> "You know, this was really close, like, really.'' : We have an expression in french (avoir eu chaud) to say ''have a lucky escape'' which could litterally translated as ''get hot''. It was, when I wrote it first, an approriate line for Snotlout, until I realised it didn't make any sense in English XD I'm so sad my lame joke didn't survive! XD


	6. Chapter 6

Later in the afternoon, Hiccup walked to Thoril's hut. He was not surprised to find him there cleaning the debris, which is what he was hoping for.

At the sight of the pile of ashes and pieces of wood blackened by the flames, his throat tightened. It was a miracle he got out of there almost unscathed.

When Thoril heard him approaching, he looked up, stared at him for a moment, as if he didn't know whether or not he would stop to greet him, then went back to work.

"Hi, do you need a hand?'' Hiccup asked a little awkwardly.

Thoril continued to move the debris, not bothering to look at him.

"I don't know, aren't you afraid I'll try to kill you while you pile up the stones over there?

The dragon rider could hear an ounce of irritation in his voice, but did not miss the subtle invitation of his words.

He walked towards the stones and began to gather them in his arms, when he got up, he regretted having taken as much while the top of his pile fell to the ground, barely missing to crush his toes. Thoril looked at him curiously, though to his great relief made no comment.

"I... I didn't thank you for saving me this morning.'' Truth is, he found it difficult to thank both his savior and his aggressor.

"No, you didn't''. Thoril confirmed before lifting a large beam on his shoulder.

"Thank you.''

"You're welcome.''

The silence weighed between the two again, making the situation more than uncomfortable. Hiccup bit his lips, the one time he tried to be nice, it was the other one who started to push him away. It made him wonder if he was doing it on purpose.

"I thought about what you said yesterday and..." Hiccup lifted another stone before continuing, "I can't force you to talk, just as I can't force you to leave either. The team members like you, and if they trust you, then..." He didn't believe what he was going to say.

"Then I should trust you too.''

Thoril continued to carry the beams, giving him no sign of acquiescence or denial. However, Hiccup knew he was listening to him.

"I realize I didn't give you a chance and maybe I went too far by searching your hut.'' He finished with an apology, which finally made the other man react.

"Maybe I went too far by burning the hut.'' Thoril confessed with a smirk.

The chief snorted.

"For that I can't disagree with you.''

The stranger walked toward him, and he did his best not to show his apprehension when he crossed the last meters. Then he relaxed when the man held out a hand.

"I'm sorry.''

Hiccup hesitated for a few seconds before shaking hands vigorously, sealing the truce between the two rivals. He really hoped he wasn't making a mistake by voluntarily releasing the guard, but that was the only way forward.

* * *

"So, you two are pals now?'' Snotlout asked, not convinced at all.

All the dragon riders were sitting around the table. They had been surprised when they saw Hiccup join them for dinner earlier, and even more surprised to see him with Thoril.

"Let's just say we managed to reach an agreement.'' He corrected, not wanting to go so far as to call him his friend either.

"It was Hiccup who came to me, we had a talk and we were able to find common ground.'' The other explained, making it less forced and more natural.

One thing is certain, he knew how to deal with words, no wonder he managed to soften everyone up.

"So that means you're not throwing him out?'' Ruffnut asked, full of hope.

"No, no, no.'' He looked at his teammates with a smile. ''He has his place among us, and he will stay as long as he needs to.'' He said turning his head towards him, the stranger nodded as a thank-you.

The dragon riders cheered when they heard the news. They really cared about Thoril, it was obvious, and Hiccup felt uncomfortable with the idea of telling them that Thoril was potentially one of the hunters.

Just because of that, he was really hoping to be wrong.

"It's not like you to change your mind so easily.'' Astrid remarked, it looked like she was still angry with him.

"Well, near death experiences does that to you, apparently.'' He said, half joking.

The blonde snorted, half satisfied with his answer. He really needed to talk to her, to clear things up, but not now.

"And to... continue on this positive note, how about spending a little week on Melody Island for a vacation?'' He changed the subject.

All his friends immediately stopped talking, as if to check that they had heard correctly. Tuffnut even dropped his fork, which almost crashed into Chicken. The animal clucked in distress before flying away.

"For real?'' Snotlout asked and Hiccup nodded in response.

"I've been thinking about that too and... I think it would do you all good, you deserve it after all.''

"Dawn right we deserve it!'' Snotlout beamed as he crossed his arms.

"'You?' You're not coming with us?'' Asked Fishlegs.

"I have to finish working on a project, plus someone has to stay on the Edge, just in case.''

"Oh, yeah, and what kind of project?'' Astrid asked, clearly wanting to make it more difficult for him.

Hiccup hesitated, his eyes moving towards Thoril, he couldn't talk about it in front of him. Only if he avoided the question, his teammates would doubt his confidence in them.

"I'd rather not talk about it now, until I'm hundred percent sure it works. But as soon as you get back, I'll show you all this and—''

"Yeah, yeah, I say the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get to know about his super secret project.'' Snotlout cut him off, sparing him a new phase of explanation to try to convince the young Viking.

"When are we leaving?!'' The twins asked in unison, flower necklaces already around their neck.

"Tomorrow, that'll give you time to pack your things. And since Thoril has traveled a lot, he will be your guide!'' Hiccup announced by placing one hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Oh, oh, oh! You're coming up with me!'' Snotlout highly suggested as he approached Thoril.

"No, he's coming up with us!'' Tuffnut exclaimed as he pushed his comrade to the side.

"Two heads, twice as much fun!'' Ruffnut added.

"Twice as much change to die, yeah!'' Snotlout growled as he tried to slip between the two.

"Guys, don't you think he might have his say about this? At least once you let him breathe.'' Hiccup said sarcastically when he saw that Thoril was once again deprived of personal space.

"It's okay, I appreciate the enthusiasm.'' The young man assured.

"If he had his own dragon, it would solve the dilemma right away.'' Fishlegs said thoughtfully.

Why did he have to think that out loud?

"I'm not sure it's a good idea..." Hiccup rejected his proposal immediately.

It was a terrible idea, if he learned how to train dragons, they would have more than an army of Singetail to deal with.

"Even though I admire what you do with dragons, I also think it's not a good idea. I don't think I'm cut out for it..." Thoril supported it, surprisingly.

"There's Thor in your first name, of course you're cut out for it!'' Encouraged Snotlout.

"Let's just try it right now!'' Tuffnut decided by dragging Thoril out, followed by the rest of the riders.

"Guys, really, I don't think that-'' Hiccup stopped and groaned, seeing that his teammates had already left. He ran towards the exit, hoping to catch up with them in time before the inevitable happened.

He found them all a little further away in a clearing, all placed in a circle behind Thoril. In front of him was a wild Gronkle who seemed very interested in the stone that the young man was holding in his hands.

 _'_ _At least they did not choose a dragon that was too offensive.'_ The leader thought as he landed near them. The idea of making noise to scare the dragon crossed his mind, but given the distance Thoril was standing at, it could quickly become dangerous for him.

Well, more dangerous than it was already.

"That's good, hand him the stone!'' Cheered Fishlegs.

"Are you sure he's not going to eat my arm?'' Thoril asked, obviously not reassured.

The others did not have time to answer as the dragon joyfully charged towards him. Taken by surprise, Thoril dropped the stone, closed his eyes and stretched his palm in front of him by reflex, as if that could stop the beast.

That's how, without meaning to, Thoril had created a link with this Gronkle.

Everyone cheered as Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe it.

"It looks like you have your own dragon.'' Astrid smiled as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Really? It's...Incredible!'' Thoril sighed as he petted his new companion.

"Yes, well, that's great, but... do you really think he can learn to ride his dragon before tomorrow?'' Hiccup asked as he gestured towards the Gronkle eating the stone.

The twins then looked at their leader, their eyes lighting up with determination.

* * *

The next day, Thoril arrived at the clubhouse on the back of his dragon, escorted by Snotlout and the twins.

"They really did it..." Hiccup mumbled to himself, in shock.

"Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Thoril, the dragon rider!'' Snotlout announced as he landed.

The others landed in turn, their dragons' backs were already loaded with their luggage.

"Oh, Hiccup, you should have seen it! Thoril and Munch flying in perfect symbiosis, it was beautiful!'' Tuffnut marveled.

"That's... great, yes, really, but... how exactly did you do it?'' Hiccup asked, trying to hide his despair.

"In truth, they just threw him on Munch, and whipped his hindquarters; the dragon went off like an arrow! I wasn't too convinced at first, but..." Snotlout explained.

"Ohh, no, not convinced at all.'' Tuffnut confirmed.

"Not at all.'' His sister repeated.

"But it worked!'' Tuffnut continued.

"Ohh, yes, it worked!'' Ruffnut nodded and exchanged a high five with her brother.

Hiccup watched Thoril cautiously caress his dragon's head, it is true that they seemed to have forged a bond.

"I admit I wasn't comfortable at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly.'' Thoril laughed softly.

Suddenly, the image of the stranger screaming in terror at the mad Gronkle came to his mind. It was when he realized he was smirking that the chief got rid of that image and moved on.

"And so, uh, are you ready to go?''

"More than ready, even!'' Ruffnut exclaimed.

"We're just waiting for Fishlegs and Astrid.'' Thoril added.

And speaking of them, they just arrived with their dragons.

"It's okay, we're ready.'' Says Astrid as she came down from Stormfly.

"About time!'' Snotlout growled.

"Then next time just help us pack the supplies.'' Astrid retorted with a light tone. She knew he didn't like it.

Everyone laughed when he made a face.

"Well, we should get going, if we want to get there before dark.'' Thoril suggested while the others nodded. He approached Hiccup and the two shook hands, then Snotlout came around and offered him a quick shoulder hug.

"I'm counting on you, Snotlout, keep an eye on them.'' He said to him, knowing that it would make him happy.

"Don't worry, I got it!''

"Are you sure you don't want to come, Hiccup?'' Fishlegs asked when he approached him to say goodbye.

"Yes, but if you make a new discovery, you'll tell me, won't you?'' Fishlegs smiled and nodded.

"No problem! Ohh maybe we'll discover a new kind of dragon!'' The blond boy was excited as he ran towards Meatlug.

Then it was Ruffnut and Tuffnut's turn, the three exchanged hugs.

"See you around, amigo.'' Ruffnut greeted him, the chief nodded back, smiling.

"Don't blow up too many things!'' He shouted at them when they were already taking off.

"Hey, aren't they waiting for us?! Hey! Come back!'' Snotlout shouted at them as he took off with Hookfang.

"See you in a week Hiccup!'' Fishlegs said goodbye as he took off.

"Off we go **.** '' Thoril said out loud, he went to take off but stopped to look at Astrid, silently asking her if she was coming.

The girl lowered her shoulders, her eyes seemed sad, which added a strong contrast to the smile on her lips.

"Go ahead, I'll meet you there.'' She asked, and Hiccup understood when she had things to say to him. Thoril obeyed and flew away immediately, leaving them alone.

They both shifted uncomfortably, avoiding each other's gaze. They hadn't really spoken since the fire.

"Are you all right?'' He asked cautiously.

"Yes... yes! A week's vacation, how could it not be okay?'' Astrid exclaimed, but she didn't seem that happy.

Hiccup looked at her without saying anything, giving her time to find the words to tell him what she really thought.

"I just wish you'd go with us.'' She finally said, after a long moment of hesitation.

The young man's eyes softened as he smiled sadly. Despite the fact that he hurt her, she still cared about him.

It was in those moments that he thought he didn't deserve her.

"I'm sorry Astrid, I wasn't there for you and... I acted like an idiot. But I promise you I'll try to change, but right now..." He took one of her hands in his own, showing her that he was sincere. And she squeezed it back, clearly showing that she understood.

"You have work to do, I know that, I knew this kind of thing would happen when you're in a relationship with a chief.'' She joked and they both laughed.

"What you did for Thoril, or rather what you didn't do... I'm proud of you.''

"You were right, I was far too suspicious and... all he asked was that we give him a chance.'' He confessed.

"Far too jealous, especially.'' She joked again, which made the young chief frown.

"Jealous? No!'' He exclaimed. "I, uh...Okay, maybe I was a bit jealous.'' He admitted, sheepishly rubbing at the back of his neck.

Astrid laughed before hitting his arm playfully.

"Ouch!''

Before he could protest any further, the girl grabbed the front of his tunic and kissed him. Hiccup returned the kiss and closed his eyes, it was her who put an end to their exchange.

"I think I should go.'' She whispered as she hooked one of her strands of hair back behind her ear.

"Be careful.'' He asked her, squeezing her hand again.

"I will.'' She assured him by releasing his hand gently to run towards Stormfly. Hiccup approached the edge of the pontoon and watched them fly away. He was definitely alone now.

Which meant it was finally time to find the answers.

The problem was that he didn't really know where to start since Thoril's hut had been destroyed. Plus there was this little voice that kept telling him that he must surely be mistaken, and that maybe there was nothing to find.

Hiccup shook his head, the research could wait for an evening, he needed time to go through all the information he already had about Thoril, assuming it was true.

_'_ _I'm the one who's asking you to stop looking for answers!'_

Thoril had begged him not to do it, really begged him. Maybe he had to respect his wish, maybe he was trying to leave his past behind and simply start a new life...

 _'_ _But he tried to kill you!'_ Another voice screamed in his head.

The chief growled aloud and entered his hut, not even remembering walking all the way down here. He found Toothless deeply asleep and he shook his head with affection, perhaps it was the heat, but this dragon had only been sleeping for a while.

 _'_ _Or maybe you pushed him too hard.'_ The voice suggested to him.

He ignored it and again took out the dragon eye two from its hiding place, only a few pieces left and it would finally be operational. He still hadn't installed an unlocking mechanism, and given the circumstances, maybe he should have done it first. In any case he had to finish it to show it to his friends, and especially to know if it really worked.

He did so all night, and the storm roaring outside did not distract him from his objective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note : Okay let me explain : I have no explaination. Like ''hey now that our leader finally gave us our vacations, let's not be angry with him anymore.'' I know... I'm sorry. The team respect Hiccup despite everything, and him letting them go on their own with Thoril is the proof he trust them. He didn't say such things as ''you deserve it'' for a while, maybe that's what they needed? (I'm totally not trying to justify my choices for this story XD )
> 
> More seriously (yeah the author notes are going to be longer than the chapter itself). I think unconsciously put a lot of my own frustration and bitterness in this story, which is why it came out this way. One year ago my mom finally found someone to share her life with. His arrival was so brutal, like a complete stranger coming to my house, TOUCHING my house like doing repairs and such after he's been here for ONE day. He only tried to help, really, and everyone in my familly was like ''oh he's so nice, welcome to the familly lalala'' and I was the only one who didn't trust him x'D. I still don't, but I've learned to remain cordial around him, despite everything, just like Hiccup in this chapter. x)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: violence, blood, injuries. (2/3 of the chapter and same for the next)

 

The next day, Hiccup decided to go on patrol very early, in order to check the damage caused by last night's storm. Toothless yawned several times, but nevertheless seemed happy to accompany his trainer.

The viking scanned the ground and took note of the many fallen trees and structures illuminated by the sun as it rose into the sky.

"It looks like we're gonna have a lot of work to do **.** ''

Toothless growled in response, obviously unhappy to hear this news. Hiccup caressed him as a sign of apology **.** It was unfair for him not to be able to go on vacation because his trainer had decided to stay.

"You know, nothing would stop us from taking the day off too, by a river full of fish..." Hiccup suggested in a light tone, and his dragon chirped with agreement.

"Well, once the others get back, of course.'' He added.

Hiccup expected another very expressive growl, but Toothless' roar put him on alert. He straightened up on the saddle, ready to dodge whatever was coming to them, but saw nothing. That's when he looked down at the beach. Something was shining in the sand, and it reminded him vaguely of the time he had seen a light during a night patrol.

"Let's go check it out, bud.'' He says when he clicked the pedal.

Before landing, the two allies made several circles at lower altitudes around the beach to make sure no one was here. That's when he saw something metallic coming out of the sand, before a wave covered everything. Maybe that explained how the light had suddenly disappeared last time. They were flying far too high to see that the object was buried so close to the water, or even underwater.

Hiccup jumped off Toothless' back and rushed to the place where he had seen the object, taking advantage of the withdrawal of tide to pull it out of the sand. The fact is that this object was much bigger than it looked. And soon, the dragon rider was submerged to his knees, struggling to get what seemed like a big chest out of the sand.

Toothless, seeing his friend in trouble, immediately came to help him. Together they dragged the object out of the water, and Hiccup leaned on it to catch his breath.

"Thank you, bud.' He breathed.

In response, the Nightury shook himself dry, throwing water everywhere, especially on his trainer who growled, protecting his face from the drops. The dragon laughed his throat out, as he used to do.

Hiccup shook his head with tender exasperation, then looked at the ocean behind him. The storm must have gotten the chest out of the sand last night. He looked at the object, no matter who had buried it there, he didn't want it to be found.

He ran his hands over the walls, trying to find inscriptions that could tell him where it came from, but found nothing significant.

_'Well then, I have no choice but to open it.'_

"Toothless? He asked, and the dragon understood immediately.

A quick plasma shot and the trunk was open. The chief waited a few moments, until the metal cooled, before inspecting it. His eyes widened as he saw its contents, weapons, provisions, parchment, and armor...

He took it in his hands, inspecting it more closely, the leather was sturdy, and the shoulder pads looked like they were made of Terrible Terror skulls. Hiccup dropped the garment as if it had just been burned and Toothless bent down to smell it. The dragon began to growl, his teeth barred, confirming his hypothesis.

This chest belonged to the hunters.

The viking tried to calm his beating heart with rational thoughts.

Unfortunately, dragon hunting is not new and perhaps this chest has been around for a long time. But then in this case there should be more traces of corrosion, shellfishs clinging to the wood, and even bumps.

However, this was not the case here.

He then inspected the weapons, axes, daggers, swords, all shaped in a way that was strangely familiar to him. But he needed to see to be absolutely sure.

Without wasting a moment, he grabbed a few of them and asked Toothless to fly him to Thoril's hut.

The apprehension compressed his chest as he approached the debris, he and Thoril had cleaned almost everything except for a few beams that they thought they would reuse to rebuild the hut. The floor creaked under his foot as he walked towards the stack of weapons, he grabbed a sword and compared it to the one in his left hand, they were almost identical.

"It's not possible.'' He whispered. Could it be that Thoril was one of the hunters anyway?

As he went forward to take another weapon, his prosthesis went through a hole in the floor that had been weakened by the fire. The moment later, his entire body passed through the floor as he screamed in surprise.

He landed painfully on his right flank, coughing as he waved his arms to sweep away the cloud of ash and smoke that his fall had created. The dragon rider heard Toothless make a distress call from above and got up.

"I'm fine, bud!'' He shouted at him, hoping that it would be enough to reassure the dragon.

Surprisingly, it worked, the thumping noise from up there telling him that Toothless had probably sat there to wait for him. The Viking frowned slightly as he continued his inspection of the basement. Despite the fact that the only source of light was coming from the spaces between the floor slats, he could see two or three chests in the small space.

He approached them cautiously and his hip butted into the corner of a small table on which was placed a candle, pieces of parchment, and writing material. He muffled a cry of amazement, it was not just a storage, but a secret lair.

Hiccup tried to ignore his rapid heartbeat and decided to inspect the chests, which, unlike the one on the beach, were not locked. He found other supplies, other weapons. He panted when he recognized, despite its state of decomposition, the famous flammable plant that Thoril had brought to the twins. His throat tightened even more when he picked up the missing page about this famous plant, which according to what was written was only growing on the dragon hunter's island.

So Thoril was playing them all along? How could he even believe his lies when he knew there was something wrong with this guy?

Out of anger he kicked the trunk, managing to move it a few centimeters. A piece of parchment stuck under it then caught his attention, and he pushed the chest further to clear it.

His eyes widened as they followed the words written on a piece of paper. All this time, Thoril, in addition to infiltrating them, was exchanging messages with the hunters. And from the way the message was written, the dragon rider had a good idea of who it could be.

Caught in his own stupor, he heard someone approaching behind him, but too late. When he turned around, something heavy met his head, then, nothing.

* * *

Hiccup woke up with a severe headache.

He moaned with confusion and opened his eyes, not surprised to notice that he was still in the basement. What surprised him, however, was that when he tried to feel if his head was bleeding, he discovered that he was tied up. His heart rate accelerated as he tried to wiggle out of the ropes that held him prisoner against one of the chests.

"Easy, you took one hell of a blow.'' A voice advised him, and he jumped in its direction.

In front of him, sitting on the table, was Thoril.

"You.'' He growled as he pushed his chest forward with ferocity, shaking the chest and its contents in the process. "I knew you couldn't be trusted!''

"I told you to stay away from this, but you didn't listen.'' The boy reprimanded as he came down from the table.

The chief stared at him with anger, he felt so bad for believing his lies, and even more so now that he had been captured. He couldn't even warn his-

His eyes widened.

"My friends, where are they? And what did you do to Toothless?'' He asked, he knew that his dragon would have warned him of Thoril's arrival. Which meant he had been prevented from doing so one way or another.

"Your friends are currently looking for me after I accidentally got lost in the storm, it's going to take them a while.'' He shrugged before taking a pinch of a kind of purple dust from a bag hung on his belt.

"As for your Dragon, let's say he's going to sleep for a long time.'' He said slightly, letting the powder fall to the ground.

Hiccup followed it with his eyes, clutching his jaw, he recognized this powder, they had already used it against him once.

''It's funny you still worry about them, after everything they said. I thought it would be harder to put them against you.'' Thoril continued.

''Why did you do that?'' Hiccup asked.

''Isn't it obvious? To isolate you from the group, take out the central piece and let the rest crumble around it. Leaving your base vulnerable. Oh and thank you for this organized trip by the way, it made everything easier.''

Hiccup just glared at him, he hated himself for thinking Thoril wouldn't be able to do anything from Melody Island, since he clearly told him he wanted to stay on the Edge. Why did he even believe him in the first place?

''Your friends are fine, don't worry.'' Thoril repeated when he saw the thoughts whirling in the dragon rider's eyes.

"What proves me you're telling the truth this time?'' He asked, his voice wavering slightly.

"I've never lied to you, Hiccup.'' Thoril replied, and the dragon rider tried to hold back his laughter, which almost seemed to hurt the other man.

"I told you I would never hurt you unless you made me.'' He said sadly as he gestured to the room around them, "So, here we are."

Hiccup shook his head with exasperation, he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

"You're here, taking me hostage, and you still think you can make me look like the bad guy?''

"I tried to warn you! Several times!'' Thoril said angrily.

"And what did you expect me to do? Wait quietly while you planned to destroy our island? Or worse?''

"I'm not after your island, or your friends, or even your dragons!"

"Then what are you looking for?!'' Hiccup shouted, really not understanding why he kept acting as if he was still on their side.

The hunter seemed hesitant, his Adam's apple juggled as he swallowed nervously.

"I need the dragon eye.'' He said gravely.

The young Viking's green eyes widened, but he quickly regained a neutral face, not wanting to betray his emotions in front of the other man.

"The dragon eye has been destroyed.'' He stated, trying to find out if Thoril knew about the 2nd artifact.

"I'm talking about _your_ dragon eye.'' The stranger corrected by showing him one of his plans.

It wasn't that surprising, knowing that he had been spying on them for more than two weeks.

"Why do you need it?'' Hiccup didn't even bother to deny it and went straight on, the more he knew about his plan, and the sooner he could find a solution to defeat it.

"I just need it.'' Thoril said dryly before kneeling before him. "I don't want to hurt you, just tell me where he is and I'll leave you and your friends alone.''

"I don't think you have any idea what this object is capable of.'' Hiccup argued, while trying to slide his hands through the ropes that bound them together. He knew things could escalate very quickly now, and he had to find a way to free himself before that happened.

"That's right.'' The other confessed, "But I don't care, all I know is that it'll get me what I want.''

"And what do you want?''

"I already told you that, Hiccup, and I didn't lie.'' He showed his hand curled up, as if he was holding an object in his palm. "This is what I came here for, and stayed for, only this.'' His hand closed into a fist, while the other grabbed the dragon trainer's shoulder, squeezing lightly.

The brunet tried not to flinch with the contact, and looked the other boy in the eyes, listening carefully.

"You wanted me to leave, didn't you? If you give me this object, I'll go away, far away, and you'll never hear from me again.'' He said nicely, as if he was trying to reassure a frightened child.

"I know you're planning to hand it over to the hunters.''

"How is that a problem?'' Thoril asked.

The dragon trainer snorted then frowned at the confused expression on the stranger's face.

"So you're really not from here, huh?''

"I told you, I'm not lying.'' The other repeated firmly.

"They're hunters! They hunt, they kill, dragons and humans, without mercy! If they get their hands on this object, they'll exterminate all the dragons, down to the last one!'' Hiccup listed, hoping to bring back into Thoril a little common sense.

"It's not my problem.'' He replied by shaking his head, his eyes shone with an emotion that the chief had difficulty understanding.

He seemed both lost and more determined than ever. Only if Hiccup could still reason with him, he had to try.

"Look, I don't know what promises they made to you, but they won't keep them. Let me go and we'll find a way to solve your problem, whatever it is, together.''

"If you really want to help me, tell me where the damn dragon eye is!'' Thoril screamed, punching the chest Hiccup was tied to, right next to his head.

 _'Or maybe it is already too late.'_ He thought as he swallowed nervously.

Thoril leaned over him, his hand still resting near his head, his face a few centimeters away from his own.

"I'll do anything to get it, you understand? And I'll get what I want, even if it means burning your island, and you with it. Trust me, I'm not lying this time either.'' He whistled as he drew a dagger to approach it to Hiccup's cheek.

"You don't have to do this..." The Viking said, his gaze fixed at the glittering blade.

"I have to, you made me.'' Thoril replied by approaching the object even closer.

"If you do that, there'll be no turning back, let me help you, we can find another solution.'' Strangely, he could not prevent his voice from trembling.

"It's already too late for that.''

"No, stop..." Hiccup tried to escape the blade that touched his cheek, only to bump his head in Thoril's arm. Suddenly, the blade went down a few centimeters, drawing out blood and a painful hiss from the viking.

"Where is the dragon's eye?'' He growled, approaching his blade again.

"I can't tell you that- Ah!'' Hiccup shouted in surprise when the blade cut his cheek again, a little lower. It was not good, the stranger was so desperate that he would not hesitate to torture him to get what he wanted.

But he had to hold on, his friends would eventually return to the Edge to tell him about Thoril's disappearance...

"Don't make me continue.'' His attacker whispered. The hand holding the dagger was shaking as it approached his face once again.

Hiccup maintained a determined expression, his gaze challenging the other to continue. Thoril shook his head, then turned it away when he suddenly planted the dagger in the dragon rider's thigh.

Thoril whimpered almost inaudibly through the scream of his victim.

Hiccup tried to control his breathing, refusing to look at his leg. Thoril then grabbed his hair, straightening up his head to force him to look at him. Hiccup pushed on his other leg, desperately trying to free himself, his prosthesis scraped the ground ineffectively while the stranger kept an iron grip on his scalp.

"I don't want to do this, but you made me do it. I just want it to stop, just like you.'' Thoril said to him in a trembling voice.

"Then stop it.'' The dragon rider replied with a hoarse, emotionless voice.

"I'll do it, but first you have to tell me where it is.''

"I can't do that.'' Hiccup resigned himself as he watched different emotions pass over the other man's face. There was neither malice nor pleasure, just anger, sadness, but above all pain.

This seemed totally illogical, considering the position in which the two were in.

Thoril released an inhuman cry by twisting the dagger still stuck in the rider's leg. Said rider could not hold back his scream of pain as he threw his head back. He was almost happy that the hand grabbing his hair was still there, otherwise he would have hit it against the chest.

"I can't tell you where it is! I just can't!'' Hiccup cried, hating the way his voice went high pitched.

He could, of course he could, one simple word and he would avoid another assault from the hunter. But the consequences would destroy him in a way that a dagger could even hope to.

"Why? Why are you making me do this?!'' Thoril screamed as released the rider's head, which fell forward as if it weighed a ton.

For a moment, there was only the laborious breathing of the two men.

Hiccup took a few more moments to try to get rid of the pain that ran all over his thigh, and raised his head with difficulty. His eyes were glassy, but he refused to let the tears flow.

"No matter... what you do, I won't talk.'' He paused before adding, "There's too much life at stake.''

Thoril, trembling with all his being, hit the chest with the palm of his hand before yelling in frustration. From his sitting position, Hiccup watched him stand up, his hands clawing at his head. He could see fresh tears coming down his cheeks, slowly and continuously, unlike his fast, hatched breathing.

"I have to do it, I have to do it, I have no choice, I have to do it..." He chanted again and again, as if it could prevent him from losing his mind.

Unfortunately for Hiccup, it seemed that this was already the case.

The dragon rider had rarely felt so helpless, all he could do was stand there hoping that he would survive what Thoril would do next. Given the state of distress in which his aggressor was in, it was very unlikely that he could prevent him from committing the irreparable.

Of course, he didn't forget his teammates who were supposed to be on their way to the Edge right now, so there was still a chance that this nightmare would end soon.

He looked at Thoril with apprehension as this one let out a long sigh. The silence lasted for long and painful seconds before the stranger finally spoke.

"All right.'' He said as he approached a chest to pick up an axe.

The dragon rider's heart immediately began to hammer at the sight of the sharp object, and he unconsciously straightened up. Then he relaxed slightly when the other passed the axe over his shoulder. It seemed that he had no intention of using it at the moment.

"Since you won't tell me anything, all I have to do is look for the dragon's eye in the ashes of your base.'' Thoril announced on his way out.

Hiccup didn't know if it was because of the pain, but it took him a while to understand what the other person meant.

"And risk destroying it?'' He tried, knowing himself that the object could not be destroyed by fire.

"Don't take me for an idiot.'' Thoril growled before extinguishing the candle, plunging him into darkness.

No, no, no, no, no. His friends weren't there yet to stop him, he had to buy time, stop him from leaving.

"Wait a minute! You can't leave me here!" He called as he pulled on ropes that dug into his chest.

"If only you had listened to me, things could have been a lot different.'' Thoril said sadly before pushing the hatch originally intended to descend with his axe, letting the daylight pass.

Hiccup clenched his jaw as the stranger climbed out of the basement using a ladder. He silently hoped he would leave it there, but all his hopes of running away from this place were crushed when Thoril withdrew his only chance of getting out.

He heard a muffled crackling sound before biting his lips as he watched the pieces of the ladder fall one by one. When Thoril closed the hatch, the rider broke in his turn, letting out a cry that he had has been holding for too long to escape from his mouth.

Tears slipped from his eyes, the saline substance mixing with the dried blood on his cheek. He was alone, he was in pain, his dragon was Thor knew where, unaware of the danger, just like his friends who were probably heading straight into a trap. While he was still stuck here without any way to warn them.

Maybe there was already no one left to warn.

He shook his head, refusing to consider such a possibility. He had to get out of here, find his dragon, and stop Thoril.

Preparing for the pain, Hiccup planted his heel and prosthesis in the ground, then pushed so that the upper part of his body rose up along the chest. He felt the dagger move as his leg bent, and was almost happy to be almost plunged into darkness, in which case he would see blood flowing down his leg.

He growled with the effort, not being able to use his hands to push against the chest. Unfortunately for him, the wooden box slipped backward, causing him to lose his balance. His butt met the ground again, he was completely out of breath, if the ropes that held his chest had slipped over the trunk like the others, he would probably have collapsed to the ground.

He straightened up as best he could, trying to ignore the constant feeling of electricity in his thigh and the blood gradually wetting his pant leg.

"Come on." He encouraged himself by pushing again.

This time the pain was three times worse, but he continued, biting his lips to stifle his screams. In a final effort, he pumped his legs, and immediately felt the last loops of rope coming loose around the trunk.

Hiccup collapsed on the ground, his labored breathing shook his whole being and his eyes burned as new tears of pain came up. He stayed there for a while, appreciating the freshness of the ground against his cheek, he was tempted to stay there, to succumb to unconsciousness.

Only to make the pain go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. 
> 
> Thoril's behaviour still doesn't make any sense right? XD It's normal.. I think.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: injuries, blood.

Astrid and the riders started the last kilometers before they reached the Edge.

''I hope he made it back there.'' Astrid said as she fixed the horizon. It's been three hours since they've been looking for Thoril. In reality, they had lost him much earlier, but were forced to wait for the storm to stop before starting the researches.

''I'm sure he's fine, it's _Thor_ -il after all! What a little lightning could do to him?'' Snotlout said confidently.

''Wait, does that mean I'm immune to nuts?'' Tuffnut asked, patting himself all over.

His sister raised an eyebrow and threw a handle of nuts she had gathered in the forest at him.

''Ouch!'' The man cried, rubbing his cheek.

''It seems like it doesn't work for everyone.'' She snickered.

''His dragon must have been spooked and flew naturally back home. But why didn't he come back to us?'' Fishlegs asked worriedly.

''Maybe because of this.'' Astrid answered, pointing at the column of smoke coming from their island.

The rest of the group gasped as they saw it too.

''Awesome, as if theses vacations couldn't get worse!'' Snotlout groaned.

''Let's hurry!'' Astrid ordered as soon as she came out of her astonishment.

Together, they urged their dragon to fly faster, hoping they would arrive in time. Astrid's features were twisted with concern; Hiccup and Toothless were still there. It just felt like an horrible déjà vu to her and she couldn't help but think that her partner was in more trouble this time.

The closer they came to the island, the better they could distinguish what was causing the smoke. As she feared, the fire came from Hiccup's hut. Perhaps there had been an incident at the forge? She didn't know, and honestly she didn't care, she just wanted him to be fine.

However, to her great surprise, it was not Hiccup that she and the riders met in front of his hut.

"Thoril!'' Ruffnut beamed, jumping from her dragon to run towards him, closely followed by the others.

"You're here!'' Tuffnut said, the obvious relief in his voice.

He turned around, alerted by the screams, but he didn't seem so happy to see them again.

"We've been looking all over for you!'' Snotlout crossed her arms.

"Yes, we were worried.'' Fishlegs added.

"I'm sorry, I was separated from you during the storm.'' The young man explained, his voice devoid of emotions.

"How long have you been here? What happened?!'' Astrid asked, she felt like she was the only one who saw the fire burning down Hiccup's hut.

"I just arrived, and I saw the fire, I was trying to stop it. My dragon flew away, too.'' He replied by pointing to the hut behind him, Astrid noticed him putting a piece of parchment in one of his pockets as he made his move.

"We'll help you.'' Fishlegs suggested before asking Snotlout and the Twins to get buckets from the reserve. All three flew away, and no one noticed the twins flying in the opposite direction, as they usually do.

"Have you seen Hiccup?'' Astrid asked, trying to hide her concern.

Thoril's body stiffened instantly. He was acting really strange, he was standing there looking at the flames instead of jumping into the action as he always did. Seeing the coldness of his expression and his eyes shining, she expected him to tell her something terrible.

"He probably went on patrol.'' He replied, but Astrid, for the first time, did not believe him.

"What happened to him? Is he hurt? Is he still in there?!'' She asked as she walked towards the blaze to see if he was still inside, only to be stopped by Thoril who stood in front of her.

"Let me through!'' She spat, if he didn't want to tell her what was going on, she would go and find the answers on her own. Stormfly, sensing the distress of her rider, croaked as she spread her wings.

"I'm sure he's fine.'' Her friend assured, placing both hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"We have the buckets! Someone has to go up there and help us activate the fire system.'' Fishlegs screamed as he put the buckets of water down with Meatlug.

"I'll take care of it!'' In no time Snotlout opened the valves to let the transparent liquid slowly fill the gutters.

But before they could do anything else, they were called by two voices that shouted in the background.

"Hey! Guys!''

All the heads turned towards them, and Thoril muttered something under his breath. With wide eyes, they watched the twins fly towards them with a black mass hanging between Barf and Belf's claws.

"Can someone explain to me why Toothless was locked in the stables? Sleeping?'' Tuffnut then asked that they put the Nightfury down.

"Looks like he's not going to wake up right away.'' Ruffnut commented, playing with the unconscious dragon's ears.

Astrid's eyes immediately moved towards Thoril, who seemed more annoyed than surprised.

"It's not good, if Toothless is here, then something must have happened to Hiccup.'' Fishlegs spoke everyone's thoughts.

"When is he not in danger anyway?'' Snotlout said, trying to hide his concern.

"Speaking of danger, Munch was also locked in the stables, but we took him out, so you don't have to worry anymore!'' Tuffnut announced proudly.

Astrid's breathing was cut off as she stared at Thoril in horror.

"Wait, you told me your dragon ran away?'' Astrid asked, fearing the worst.

Thoril lowered his head, trembling slightly, and the riders looked at each other with confusion.

"Thoril?'' Fishlegs asked softly.

"All right, that's enough.'' The stranger growled.

At that moment, several things happened at once.

With a quick gesture, the impostor grabbed his axe and pointed it at the group, raising the tension all at once. All shouted as they backed away, not understanding their friend's sudden reaction. Astrid, as for her, drew her own axe.

"Woah! What are you doing?'' Snotlout asked, his voice going high pitched.

At the same time, the gutters finally filled poured the liquid on the burning hut, only its reaction to the flames was not at all as expected. The blaze screamed at the contact with the liquid, projecting the flames several meters high.

Whatever was in the tank was no longer water.

The group watched with horror as the flames spread to the other huts, and within minutes the whole shoreline was under their control.

"Have you seen this chaos?'' Tuffnut asked, almost admiring.

"Yeah... There's only one thing that can burn so fast," Ruffnut replied, equally amazed.

"Flammable plant oil.'' Tuffnut announced.

"Someone must have put some in the tank instead of water, it's brilliant..." Ruffnut concluded before releasing a cry of pain when Snotlout hit her arm.

"It's our huts burning, it's not brilliant!'' Snotlout got angry.

"I'm surprised you were able to conclude such a thing by yourself, it seems you're less stupid than you look.'' Thoril snickered, his axe still brandished in front of him.

"You did this!'' Fishlegs accused him, not believing the words that came out of his mouth.

"I didn't want to involve you into this, but Hiccup made me.''

When her boyfriend was mentioned, the young woman's eyes lit up with anxiety and fury.

''What have you done to him?!'' She roared, aimed her axe at him.

''Do you really want to do that now? Your island is burning to ashes, you won't be able to both stop me and the flames.'' Thoril said as he kept his defensive stance.

Astrid's gaze flickered between him and the burning hut. He was right, they had to stop the fire before it was too late. But this implied letting him go with the information about Hiccup.

It looked like she would have to stop him alone.

''You guys, take care of the fire.'' She said as she readjusted her axe, ''I'm taking care of him.'' She snarled, Stormfly squawked, understanding her partner, and spread out her wings, the spikes of her tail ready.

''Are you sure?'' Snotlout asked, a bit doubtful.

''It's Astrid, of course she is sure.'' Ruffnut snorted before taking of with Tuffnut.

''Go!'' She ordered, not letting Thoril out of her sight.

The rest of the group followed the twins to get to work immediately.

''I don't want to hurt you.'' Thoril said as he showed out one of his palms as a sign of peace.

''Too bad for you, I don't feel the same way.'' And with that, she charged towards him with a war cry. Thoril, thus a bit surprised by her attack, narrowly rolled out of her blow. The end of his roll was abruptly stopped by a rank of spines shot by Stormfly.

Astrid frowned when she saw him unmoving as the Nadder approached. It was too late when she realized that was exactly what he was waiting for.

''Stormfly! Go back!'' She called to her. At the same moment, Thoril threw a handle of sleeping powder at the dragon, putting her into a deep slumber.

''Stormfly!'' Astrid ran to her dragon as she fell heavily on the ground. Strangely, Thoril didn't stop her and let her check on her dragon.

''Now it's a fair fight.'' He commented lightly, the young viking's gaze hardened as she went back into a fighting stance.

''You'll pay for that!'' She promised, charging at him again. He dashed to the side to avoid her first blow. ''Where is he?'' She demanded as she struck once again.

''Somewhere safe.'' The man replied as he kept blocking and dodging her attack. Not once he tried to strike back, which seemed to anger the girl even more. ''I tried to warn him, to stop him from trying to look for answers, but he wouldn't listen!'' He then explained.

''Turned out he was right.'' She said bitterly. From the beginning Hiccup was right, and she didn't listen.

She went to strike Thoril again but froze when he finally pulled a move and easily disarmed her.

''Please, you're making the same mistake.'' He said sadly, as he made no move to prevent her from reaching for her axe again.

''My only mistake was to think we could trust you!''

''Trust me like you trust your leader, you mean?'' In response, she roared and charged again, blinded by guilt and pain. Thoril sighed and decided to fight back, realizing he couldn't reason with the Viking.

Over the slamming of their weapons, Astrid could hear the cries of distress of her companions. She briefly observed the scene, noting the four new huts that had just been attacked by fire.

"Ruff, Tuff, it's too late for Hiccup's hut! We have to stop the fire from spreading!'' Cried Snotlout.

Her heart tightened when she heard the news, what if it was too late for Hiccup, too?

Thoril, who noticed the girl's gaze juggling between him and the chaos around them, decided to push her further.

"Admit it, you can't stop me and save the island at the same time.''

The blonde bit her lip with frustration, she couldn't let him escape, no matter what he came for, it couldn't be anything good. She suddenly removed her axe, causing her opponent to lose balance briefly before doing a low spinning swipe kick to knock him off the ground.

Before he could get up, she grabbed the piece of parchment that was sticking out of his pocket, and was more than surprised when she discovered the drawing of what seemed to be a dragon eye. She recognized this as one of Hiccup's works, probably the project he had been working on in secret for months.

"So that's what you've been after all along?'' She says aloud, without really asking him the question directly.

"Give me that!'' He grunted as he threw himself forward.

She crouched down, avoiding the young man's assault just before plunging the handle of her axe into his stomach, tearing a chocked cry out of him. As soon as his knee touched the ground, the young Viking struck again behind his neck with a scream of rage.

Astrid watched him fall to the ground with shock when she realized too late that she had used much more force than necessary. She stared at her opponent's immobile form and felt as if she was paralyzed.

She wanted to stop him, but not to the point of knocking him out, he was the only one who knew where Hiccup was!

Without thinking, she rushed to the unconscious boy and put down her axe to turn him over on his back using both hands. She then leaned over him to listen to his breathing before she was cut from her own.

In less than two seconds, Thoril had placed her back to him and wrapped his forearm around her throat. She screamed in frustration as she tried to struggle, but one of her attacker's legs was firmly hooked around her waist.

"I taught you to never let your guard down.'' He blew into her ear.

Astrid growled in response, hating herself for falling twice into the same trap. Both struggled on the ground for a while. She could already see her field of vision narrowing due to lack of air. In a final effort, she tried to slip out of his claws, but the other one held tight.

Her movements became less and less coordinated over time before she finally felt her body going limp. She had lost, she knew it, and she hated it, she hated it, she felt helpless, vulnerable.

"I'm sorry.'' She thought she heard Thoril say before she passed out.

* * *

Hiccup had finally managed to untangle himself from the rows of ropes that previously held him to the trunk.

Unfortunately, he wasn't free yet.

From his seated position, he looked for an object in the dark room that could cut the last binds that held his wrists together. He thought of the weapons in the chests, but he doubted he could catch them with his hands tied like that.

"Come on, there must be something..." He growled as he tried to drag himself to the other end of the room, only to awaken the pain from the dagger still stuck in his thigh.

He froze and fixed the dagger, the handle glinting in the light coming from between the ceiling boards. His head spun just thinking about what he was about to do. He wasn't even sure it was wise, considering that he could possibly bleed to death before he managed to free himself.

But what choice did he have?

"Okay, okay..." He took a deep breath before twisting his chest to the side to allow his hands to grab the handle of the dagger. The simple act of bending his leg triggered a wave of pain through it **,** but he ignored it as best he could.

Hiccup drew a sharp breath as he pulled out the dagger. He would also have liked to have something other than his lips to bite during the process. Tears escaped through her eyelids, temporarily blurring his vision, preventing him from seeing blood seeping out of wound.

"Oh gods..." He cried before taking a moment to regain his senses.

He turned the dagger between his fingers with as much dexterity as a restrained man on the verge of the passing out could and began to rub the blade against the ropes.

"Come on, come on..." He whispered to himself, hoping incidentally not to accidentally cut his hands.

One injury was already enough.

The prisoner breathed a sigh of relief when the rope finally broke. With an expression of disgust, he threw the dagger still in his hand in the distance, as if he could at the same time get rid of the pain it had caused. He then massaged his inflamed wrists, feeling the blood flow return to his hands, before taking a look at his leg.

Despite the low luminosity of the room, he could clearly see, and feel, the blood soaking most his pant leg.

Hiccup straightened up to look in the trunks for something to cover his wound. He tore out some grain sack and bit his lips as he dressed his wound with it, hoping that it would be enough to stop the bleeding.

Now that he had taken care of that, he could focus all his energy on getting out of here. His gaze landed on the hatch above him, even standing he could never reach it because of its height.

The Viking sighed and looked around, perhaps he could use the table? It took him to drag it to the hatch level to realize that this would not be enough. He then stacked several empty boxes on top of each other, trying to arrange them so that they remained stable.

It was with a little apprehension that he climbed onto the structure, hoping it would last long enough. He growled every time his right leg bent, but still managed to reach the top.

"Almost there.'' Hiccup encouraged himself before pushing the hatch open.

The viking was almost surprised when it opened without problem. He squinted as the light entered his eyes. From here he could feel the fresh air caressing his dampened skin.

He was free.

However, his victory was only short-lived when the structure below him creaked abnormally.

When he understood what was about to happen, he jumped to grab the edge of the hatch before the stack collapsed. But because of the injury to his thigh, his jump was not high enough.

"No!'' He shouted as his hands grazed the wood, announcing his inevitable fall.

He shouted when the corners of the few crates still on the table sank into his back. The shock vibrated through each of his vertebrae, cutting off his breath.

Hiccup stayed there for a while, trying to take shivering breaths while the pain persisted. His eyes teared up, and he didn't really know if it was coming from the pain or from the light above that still dazzled him.

He then let his eyes adjust to the light, staring at the exit door that seemed so far away again now that he had suddenly descended to the bottom. He was about to succeed, and two minutes later... He wasn't even sure he had the strength to climb back up, he was tired and in pain.

The Viking still tried to roll to the side to sit on the table. His back was still hurting, but nothing seemed broken, in which case he wouldn't be able to move this way.

He looked at the hatch again with a sigh, the sun was high in the sky, unlike the first time he landed here. His friends must have arrived by now, but if they didn't come to get him...

The chief's stomach twisted with concern. What if they had been captured too? Or injured? He straightened back up with determination, he couldn't give up now, his friends needed help.

No matter how many times he tried, he had to try again.

He grabbed the first box next to him, and placed it on the table.

"Let's get out of here.''

* * *

Fishlegs passed his hand over his forehead for the tenth time, wiping away the sweat that was still forming because of the heat. Thanks to Meatlug and the others, they had finally managed to stop the fire from spreading.

But the fight was far from over.

As he joined Hiccup's hut - which was now only a smoking structure - he noticed Stormfly on the ground and gasped. His heart fell down his stomach when he saw Astrid not far from her.

"Astrid!'' He screamed as jumped off his dragon and rushed to her side.

He gently shook her to wake her up, which seemed to work. The same could not be said of Stormfly who still seemed deeply asleep, Thoril had surely used the same substance as for Toothless.

His eyes widened when he noticed that the Nightfury was no longer there, had he been taken by Thoril? Had he gone to get Hiccup?

His attention returned to the girl on the ground when she sat down abruptly.

"What- Stormfly! No!'' She screamed as she tried to push Fishlegs away from her.

"Slow down, Astrid, it's just me, Stormfly's fine, she's just asleep.'' The dragon trainer reassured her.

The girl turned to see her dragon with her own eyes, and her posture visibly relaxed.

"Thoril, he ran away.'' She said, continuing to stare at her dragon.

''It would seems like it, Toothless is missing too.'' He regretted telling her that when she tried to get up again.

"What?! Where did he go?'' She shouted as she stood up, and surprisingly she managed to stand up.

"He probably went to get Hiccup. Thoril could never have transported him without his dragon..." He reasoned, reassuring himself at the same time.

"We have to find him! If Hiccup is in danger Toothless may not be able to help him alone!'' Astrid said as she grabbed her axe.

"Astrid, we don't even know where he went. If we disappear too, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout will be alone to put out the fire.'' He hated the idea as much as she did, but they couldn't let the Edge go up in smoke.

She bit her lips as she watched her teammates difficultly place the tank filled with water on its slot.

"More to the right! No, the other right!'' Snotlout shouted his instructions to the twins while trying to hold one of the pillars of the fire system.

"Toothless will keep Hiccup safe, he always does. We'll find him, but first we have to stop Thoril and this fire.'' Fishlegs added when he saw her hesitation.

"Thoril, he's after the dragon's eye!'' Astrid cried out at the traitor's mention.

"What? But it was destroyed.'' The blond reminded her.

"Hiccup built a second one.'' She explained, and Fishlegs tried to keep his excitement about the news. "If he got his hands on it..." She didn't continue, knowing as well as him what the consequences would be.

"Fishlegs, are you coming or not?'' Snotlout shouted, bringing them back to the present moment.

Astrid caressed Stormfly gently before climbing on Meatlug.

"Take us to the tank, Meatlug.'' He asked while stroking his dragon. Once there, the dragon rider began to give instructions.

"Someone must stay here to operate the system while the others hold the gutters in place.''

"I'll take care of powering the system.'' Astrid says jumping on the platform.

"Yeah, take the easy part!'' Snotlout growled.

"There's no time to argue, take care of the gutters!'' She replied.

All moved into position, and Astrid activated the system, pouring the water into the gutters that creaked under its weight. The dragon riders held on as the water flowed over each of the huts, extinguishing both the flames and their concern.

"Well done, guys." Fishlegs congratulated while picking Astrid up.

"Now let's get Thoril.'' She ordered, not wanting to waste a single second.

"Well, that shouldn't be difficult.'' Tuffnut remarked.

"Why is that?'' Snotlout asked.

"Because he's right over there.'' The twin replied, pointing her index finger at the beach.

Everyone turned their heads in this direction. Astrid's blood was boiling when she saw the impostor running towards a boat. He was going to escape, taking with him the dragon eye and Hiccup's location with him.

"We can't let him reach that boat!'' She growled as she wriggled on Meatlug's back, silently implying that they had to move now.

"Astrid, you should go with Snotlout. I have to stay here to make sure the fire doesn't start again.'' Fishlegs explained to her, understanding her intention.

Snotlout, who also understood the message well, immediately led Hookfang to them. He tapped the spot behind him, wiggling his eyebrows, glad to know that Astrid finally needed him.

The Viking jumped behind him, not failing to accidentally hit him in the process.

"Let's go.'' The blonde ordered, ignoring the trainer's complaints.

"Good luck!'' Fishlegs shouted at them as they flew away.

In no time the four dragon riders arrived on the spot, Thoril was about to jump into his boat.

"Oh, no, you don't.'' Snotlout promised aloud. "Watch me as I-" He began proudly, but was interrupted by the war cries of Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"Fire!'' They ordered their dragons to create an explosive gas barrier between Thoril and his boat. The impostor was thrown back when Belch turned on the gas. As he fell, he let go of Hiccup's dragon eye, which fell a few meters away from him.

"No!'' He screamed with anger as he got up to get it back, but Snolout and Astrid were faster. The girl grabbed the object in her hands as Snotlout directed Hookfang low to the ground before landing.

The stranger was now sandwiched between a row of dragons and a wall of fire. Astrid noticed that he was covered with soot, he probably went to get the dragon eye from their leader's still burning hut before fleeing.

"Give it back to me! Please!'' He screamed in despair.

"What? Are you begging us now? And what is that, by the way?'' Snotlout asked, trying to grab the object, but his passenger stopped him.

"You lost Thoril, surrender.'' Says Astrid, but the other one shook his head.

"You don't understand, I need this object!''

"Yes, just like us…We need it, don't we?'' Tuffnut asked.

"Probably.'' replied his sister.

"You don't understand, if I don't bring it back, I'm dead!'' Thoril argued.

Astrid groaned as she came down from Hookfang, and reduced the distance between her and the object of all their problems with a determined step.

"Trust me, if you don't tell me where Hiccup is, you'll wish to be dead!'' She spat at him with her axe raised, the stranger raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay, you want to know where Hiccup is? Let me go with the dragon eye and I'll tell you where to look.'' He proposed.

"Why would we do that? We can just make him talk!'' Snotlout mocked.

"I'm playing the bad Viking this time!'' Ruffnut growled as she hit her palm with her fist. Not leaving room for her brother to argue.

"Believe me, I'm trained for this, by the time you get me talking, Hiccup will be dead.'' Thoril said in a serious tone.

"You told me he was safe!'' Exploded Astrid as he moved her axe closer to his throat, but he didn't move.

"He is right now, but how long do you think he will last without water or food?''

Astrid looked down with frustration, she couldn't risk Hiccup's life, but if she gave him what he wanted, then all the dragons would be in danger.

For once, she didn't know what to do. Whatever the decision, it seemed to put a huge burden on her shoulders. She didn't understand how Hiccup could make this kind of call every day.

But she had no choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: DUM DUM DUM... Last chapter in two days, I think, I'll see.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Thank you for the comments and kudos I got so far, it really makes me smile every day. :)
> 
> Warning: Injuries, blood, violence.

Thump. Clank. Thump. Clank.

Hiccup's quick footsteps resounded in the forest as he ran towards the column of smoke that rose in the sky. He kept his mind focused on it to ignore the spikes of pain he felt every time his feet touched the ground

His lungs screamed with each breath, not used to making so much effort to oxygenate his body. At a moment he stumbled and fell to the ground, cutting him off in his tracks.

The Viking tried to get up immediately, knowing that he could no longer waste time, but his body prevented him from doing so. He slumped to the ground, panting, and decided to take a look at his leg.

Not his best decision.

The white fabric was now completely dyed red, he knew that as long as he kept moving his leg, it would keep bleeding. But he had to warn his teammates, and especially had to find Toothless.

When he heard the cry of his dragon, he first thought it was his imagination. It was only when he saw him in the sky that a wave of relief washed over him. He was alive, his dragon was alive!

"Toothless!'' He called, and his dragon immediately ran to him, not failing to tackle him on the ground and lick his face vigorously. His cuts stung from the dragon's saliva, but he didn't care.

"I'm so glad to see you, bud, I was so worried.'' He said as he hugged his dragon, the warmth of his scales enveloped him like a protective coat.

Everything was fine now, he was going to save his friends, and the Edge.

Toothless purred worryingly when he sniffed his trainer's leg, he looked at him with dilated pupils.

"I'm fine, don't worry.'' He reassured his dragon as he stood up, trying his best not to show his pain. "We have to find the others.'' He said as he climbed on his dragon.

The two flew into the sky, still guided by this column of white smoke. Hiccup was only hoping that it wouldn't be too late. In no time they crossed the forest that seemed endless to him a few minutes ago.

They both landed in front of his totally destroyed hut, the rider could not help but feel saddened at the sight of it.

It was his house after all.

"Hiccup!'' A voice shouted, willingly tearing him away from his thoughts.

"Fishlegs! You're okay!'' He exclaimed as he flew towards Meatlug.

"Thoril betrayed us, you were right..." His friend said, deflating with shame. The rider's eyes then landed on his friend's bleeding form. ''Are you alright?!''

"I'm okay, the important thing now is to stop Thoril, he's after the dragon eye.''

"I think he's already got it, the others went after him.'' Fishlegs explained pointing to the beach.

Hiccup nodded.

"Okay, let's go.'' He ordered, now that the fire was under control, they had to take back the dragon eye.

"Astrid, you don't think of handing it to him, do you?'' Snotlout said, baffled.

The young Viking ignored him, and handed the dragon eye to Thoril. Once they find Hiccup, they'll find a way to take it back.

"Stop!'' A familiar voice shouted, so familiar that she thought she was hallucinating for a second. She turned around, shocked and relieved to see Hiccup and Toothless arrive. Followed closely by Fishlegs and Meatlug.

"Hiccup!'' She beamed

"He's alive!'' Tuffnut rejoiced.

Thoril then took advantage of everyone's amazement to tear the dragon eye out of Astrid's hands and run towards his boat, but Hiccup landed right in front of him. Toothless then began to growl, his teeth barred, daring him to try anything. Thoril swallowed nervously as he took a few step back.

"It looks like your leverage has arrived. I'd be you, I'd turn myself in now before his dragon fire.'' Snotlout mocked.

Toothless then charged his plasma shot, ready to prove the point Snotlout had raised, but Hiccup stopped him.

"Toothless, no!'' He descended from his dragon to come between him and Thoril.

Astrid immediately noticed how he had limped while walking, and it didn't take her long to understand why. Her fist tightened around the handle of her axe, Thoril was going to pay for what he had done.

"He's not with the hunters!'' Hiccup proclaimed, hoping to calm his teammates down.

"What do you mean, not with the hunters? For weeks you've been telling us he was a hunter. And now that we know he actually is, do you say the exact contrary?!'' Snotlout flared up, completely lost.

"Maybe because Hiccup joined them!'' Tuffnut threw out his absurd hypothesis.

"Traitor..." Murmurred Ruffnut.

"Thoril, if you give them the dragon eye, they won't give you anything in return, believe me.'' Hicup tried again to reason with him, but the other one tightened his hand even harder around the object.

"Let me go to them now, or they'll come here.'' Thoril threatened by showing the fleet of boats that appeared in the distance.

"The hunters!'' Fishlegs shouted.

"Surprise surprise!'' Snotlout said sarcastically.

Hiccup gasped when he understood.

"It's not a coincidence, the fire was not only to destroy the Edge, but also to give them the signal for the attack.'' He explained.

"You're smart, Hiccup.'' Thoril complimented, indicating that his theory was correct. "So you should know you'll never stand up to this armada.'' The Viking pressed his lips in a thin line, knowing he was right.

He had to find another way.

"All right, we'll let you go with the dragon eye, but on one condition.'' He wasn't sure of his plan, so many things could go wrong, but he had to try.

"I'm coming with you.'' He announced, and everyone began to gasp in shock.

"I knew it!'' Tuffnut groaned, still convinced with his conspiracy theory.

"Are you crazy?'' Snotlout cried.

"There's no way you're doing this!'' Astrid protested as he approached him, ignoring the fact that Thoril stood between them. She gently stroked his face, freezing when her hand reached the level of his wounds. The girl's eyes shone, begging him to change his mind.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing.'' He said to her, squeezing her shoulders warmly.

She shook her head before kissing him, and then hid her face in his tunic.

"I thought I'd lost you.'' She breathed, her voice covered by the fabric. "I don't want to face this again-''

"That's not going to happen, I promise.'' He cut her off, not wanting to hear her fears echo his own.

They interrupted their intimate exchange, and he wiped a tear from his beloved's cheek.

"I'll be back.'' Hiccup assured.

"You better.'' She said gravely, but her eyes told him that she trusted him. He nodded before turning to Thoril.

"If I'm coming with you, and the dragon eye, you tell the hunters to leave the Edge. Do we have an agreement?'' He stretched out his arm, examining the foreigner's expression while he made his decision.

"This agreement makes absolutely no sense!'' Snotlout protested by throwing his arms up in the air with frustration. He knew he couldn't reason with his boss.

"Hiccup, they'll probably attack anyway, the only difference is they'll have you and the dragon eye in addition.'' Fishlegs pressed.

And he was totally right, but this is exactly what he wanted.

The chief observed Thoril's reaction, but his expression remained stoic. As he suspected, the stranger would not doubt the hunters' word until he had been betrayed himself. Hiccup could have let them come and to prove it here, but he couldn't risk putting his friends in danger.

"If we don't give them what they want, they'll attack, that's a certainty. Though if I don't go now, they'll come back later, when they realize they need me to use the dragon's eye.'' He lied.

Viggo could surely understand the mechanism by himself, but judging by the expression of concern on Thoril's face, this one knew nothing about it.

"If they attack the Edge anyway, then you can be assured the dragon eye won't be of any use to them.'' He explained, hating what it meant and hoping that it would not change Astrid's mind. "But it'll be a deal for another time.'' He added, continuing to offer his arm to Thoril, who surprisingly took it.

All the riders sighed in protest at their agreement, all of them cursing the sense of sacrifice of their leader, especially Astrid.

"Do not engage the combat unless they attack first, understand?'' He said in a firm voice, not leaving room for negotiation.

"All it takes is a little smoke to call the fire, that's not what we want right now.'' He added, looking at his allies.

"Haha, very funny! That's the stupidest idea you've ever had, Hiccup!'' Snotlout's voice was filled with worry.

"Everything's going to be fine!'' The chief assured, climbing into the boat after Thoril. Toothless approached the hull, ready to follow them, but his trainer stopped him.

"Stay here and watch over them, okay?'' He whispered to his dragon, raising two fingers in the air. Toothless seemed to understand the message and grumbled reluctantly, did not like the idea of leaving his friend alone.

The boat then began to sail towards the fleet, his stomach tightened even more when he spotted a Singetail's group flying over the boats. Getting out of here wasn't going to be easy, but if everything went as planned, he wouldn't be the only one escaping.

Something else struck him immediately when he inspected the boats.

"These ships, they don't all belong to the hunters, do they?'' He asked.

Thoril nodded, but did not turn around.

"When my parents died, I inherited the throne. Me and my people lived in peace, but when the fishermen started coming back with less and less fish, fear set in.'' Hiccup looked sadly at the fishing boats turned into war machines.

"We were exhausted, starving, but the hunters found us and they saved us. I owe them a lot.''

Hiccup bit his lips, deciding not to say anything. Viggo must have seen the potential in their fishing fleet and took advantage of their vulnerability to manipulate them.

One thing is certain, if he could convince Thoril, then his fleet would be a great help in repelling the trappers.

"I'm sorry for what happened to your people.'' He finally let out.

"Soon we won't have to worry about it anymore.'' The note of hope in Thoril's voice squeezed Hiccup's heart even more.

"You could be disappointed.''

"Once on the deck, there's nothing I can do to help you.'' Thoril ignored him by continuing to paddle, his gaze fixed on the horizon.

"I know that.''

"Why are you doing this?''

"Because it's the right thing to do.'' He replied, hoping he was right.

Despite everything Thoril had done, he did not deserve to suffer what the hunters had prepared for him.

They arrived fairly quickly to the main ship, where Krogan and Viggo were waiting for them on deck. Hiccup tried not to show his surprise at the state of the latter's face, probably caused by his fall into the volcano.*

"Hiccup, what a pleasant surprise!'' The hunter greeted him by spreading his arms out.

The rider glared at him as he fought his desire to hit the guards escorting him.

"Do you have it?'' Krogan growled, and Hiccup noticed how Thoril flinched as the hunter approached him.

Thoril nodded, behind his back, Hiccup could see his hands clutch the object nervously.

"All right then give it to me." Krogan ordered, reaching out with impatience.

Against all odds, Thoril turned to Hiccup, as if to make sure he was making the right decision. The dragon trainer discreetly shook his head. Viggo, noticing the hesitation of his new ally, decided to intervene.

"Thoril, after all we've done for you, would you dare to betray us?'' He asked, pretending to be hurt.

"I... I don't know-'' Thoril started, but Hiccup cut him off.

"Maybe you won't betray them, but they will.'' The dragon rider said, looking at Viggo.

"Oh Hiccup, we helped this young man when he and his people needed it most! We have no reason to betray him!'' The hunter sang as he placed one hand on Thoril's shoulder.

"What a coincidence, though, that they started to lack supplies just as you were passing by. Can you remind me how many fish a day a Singetail need?'' He asked sarcastically.

"I'll shut him up!'' Krogan growled as he strode towards him, but Viggo held him back with a gesture of his hand.

"I'm touched that you think I could voluntarily deprive an entire island of food.''

"After everything you've done, nothing would surprise me from you anymore.'' Hiccup replied, which put a smile on the hunter's face.

"It's true I'm tough in business, but I'm not cruel.''

"So everything will be fine for my island? With this, you can put everything back in order?''Thoril asked innocently, showing Viggo the dragon eye.

Viggo gave Hiccup a mischievous look before turning to Thoril, his voice softening.

"Of course, of course! Give it to me and everything will be fine.''

Hiccup shook his head in frustration before trying to interfere, but the guards held him back.

"No, you're making a mistake!''

Despite his efforts, Thoril gave the dragon eye to Viggo who inspected it, grinning with satisfaction.

"It is beautiful, I expected nothing less from you, my dear Hiccup.''

The Viking bit his lips and lowered his head, things were not going in his favor for the moment. Maybe Snotlout was right.

"He said you couldn't use it without him, I couldn't find the plan.'' Thoril added, and Hiccup looked up.

"Oh, he told you that, didn't he?'' Viggo laughed as he approached the dragon trainer, who could not help but struggle nervously.

"It seems like you really wanted to join us, I'm wondering why?'' The hunter asked, his eyes staring intensely at him, as if to detect the slightest flaw that could help him see right through his plan.

Hiccup held his gaze and remained silent. His eyes widened when he saw the other man's eyes resting on his leg.

"Looks like your apprentice finally followed your advice, Krogan.'' He said with a smirk. Hiccup tried to keep a defensive posture when the Bounty Hunter stared at his leg with a smile of his own.

"It looks like it, indeed.'' The man replied with a hint of surprise in his voice. He approached the Viking like a shark drawn by blood and lifted the fabric covering the wound, extirpating a dry hiss from Hiccup. "It also looks like he didn't finish the job.'' Krogan growled as he replaced the fabric, his eyes filled with excitement. Hiccup swallowed up nervously, he hadn't anticipated such a turnaround so soon.

"Look, I did what you want, now you have to honor your end of the bargain.'' Thoril asked, also knowing clearly what his master wanted him to do.

"No, you have a job to finish first.'' Krogan said pointing his finger at the dragon trainer.

"It wasn't part of the deal!'' Thoril protested, his body rigid as stone.

"It is now.'' The hunter interjected. "Hold him tight." he ordered the hunters restraining Hiccup. This time he struggled as they twisted his arms behind his back, making any movement impossible.

In his panic, he barely noticed Viggo leaving the deck and withdrawing to his quarters.

As for Thoril, he almost dropped the dagger that his leader had placed in his hand, his glassy, wide eyes staring at the struggling rider. He walked almost unconsciously forward, guided by the heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Do it.'' Krogan ordered, keeping his hand on Thoril's shoulder.

"It's no use, I won't talk.'' Hiccup tried, trying to help both Thoril and himself. But Krogan simply laughed.

"Right now, whenever you talk or not doesn't matter to me.''

Seeing that Thoril was still paralyzed, Krogan took the dagger away from him.

"Everything's fine.'' He reassured him, his voice carrying a rare sweetness. "You don't necessarily need to open new wounds.'' He explained by guiding his apprentice's hand towards his victim's leg. Hiccup immediately tried to withdraw it, but Krogan used his other hand to hold it in place.

"Sometimes it's better to use the old ones.'' He finished with a smile full of teeth, and then pressed Thoril's hand on the wound. Hiccup couldn't hold back his scream as he fought fiercely against the hunters.

"Thoril!'' He called, trying to bring him back to reality. But his eyes were empty, as if he wasn't even aware of what he was doing.

"You don't have to do this! They're using you, just like they used you to steal the dragon eye!'' He shouted.

Suddenly, he felt the pressure on his wound release a little, but it immediately returned when Krogan pushed again.

"Keep going.'' The hunter growled, clearly enjoying this.

"I must do it, I must do it..." Thoril sang again, tears running down his face.

"Yes, you have to do it.'' Krogan whispered in his ear, as looked at the pained rider with eyes full of delight.

"They... they told you they'd help you, but they lied. Think... think about your people, do you really want them to serve people like them?!'' The man reasoned between his laborious inspirations.

"Enough!'' Krogan spat as he hit Hiccup with the back of his hand, the force of the blow snapping his head to the side. At least the pressure on his leg subsided.

"I'll teach you your place.'' The hunter growled as he searched for his sword, he froze when his hand found air. He suddenly turned his head towards Thoril who was holding it in his hands, he didn't have time to react as the young man kicked his chest, pushing him. As he tried to regain his balance, the hunter stumbled back several steps before falling overboard.

Almost at the same time, the guards around them threw themselves on the traitor, including those holding Hiccup. The latter crashed to the ground, out of breath, as he watched Thoril eliminate the hunters one by one. From the corner of his eye, he saw a torch initially designed to light up projectiles, abandoned on the ground.

The dragon rider took advantage of his new ally's diversion to grab it and set fire to a few barrels. A scream from behind alerted him and he crouched down in time, avoiding an axe blow from one of the hunters. The weapon then dug itself into the woods, making the situation very difficult for the trapper who tried to dislodge it.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow before knocking him out with the handle of his torch, grabbing the keys attached to his belt as he stepped over him. He put the pair in his pocket and exchanged his torch for a sword also stolen from the hunter.

Another cry then drew his attention to Thoril who was surrounded by a new group of hunters. Faced with his perilous situation, Hiccup's eyes darted everywhere, searching for a way to help him. He grinned when his eyes fell on a net filled with barrels hanging just above the group. Without losing a second he cut the rope holding the net.

"Watch out!'' He warned Thoril, who, being more agile than the hunters, dodged the rain of barrels without any trouble. The stranger made two or three rolls. When he didn't get up right away, Hiccup ran to him, trying as best he could to ignore his leg.

"Are you all right?'' He asked as he watched his ally clutch his arm firmly, he could see blood seeping through his fingers.

"I'm fine.'' The other man hissed, "We have to get out of here.''

"Help is on the way.'' Hiccup said confidently as he watched the pile of barrels catch fire behind him.

"In the meantime, I need yours.''

* * *

When he saw the column of smoke raise up into the sky, Toothless immediately jumped out of his position and roared to get the riders' attention.

"What's going on?'' Astrid asked before she also saw the column of smoke.

"Is it Hiccup?'' Fishlegs questioned in his turn.

"Who else could it be, he's on fire these days..." Tuffnut muttered.

"Can you stop with the fire jokes?!'' Snotlout growled before he gasped with astonishment.

He exchanged a quick look with Astrid who also seemed to understand.

"Sometimes it only takes a little smoke to call the fire.'' She quoted before adding, "It's a signal!'' The blonde exclaimed before climbing on Toothless, who immediately took off

"Let's go save that mutton head again!'' Snotlout shouted as the group followed close behind the NightFury.

* * *

The deep sound of Thoril's horn echoed through the whole fleet, calling on his people to fight the hunters. Hiccup had finally managed to bring them back to reason, he was just hoping that it wouldn't lead them to their downfall.

He looked around as the harpoons turned against the dragonflyers, taking them down one by one. On the main ship there were only them and a few hunters on the ground, unconscious, since the rest had decided to flee.

"Thank you.'' He told his new ally who nodded proudly.

Now there was only one thing left for them to do. I was at this moment that Viggo came out of the hold, with the dragon eye hanging from his belt and a sword in his hand.

"You're making a mistake, my young Thoril.'' He said as he withdrew his weapon.

"The only mistake I made was to trust you!'' The brown man growled as he wielded his sword.

"You may not be as naive as you look after all.'' Viggo laughed. "But it doesn't change anything, I just have to get rid of you and your people will submit!'' He added by charging Thoril who narrowly blocked the sword strike.

Hiccup tried to join the fight, but a fireball crashed between him and the two opponents.

"Hiccup!'' Krogan screamed from the top of his Singetail. "It's over for you!''

This was the only warning the dragon rider got before a rain of fireballs washed over him. He narrowly avoided them, taking cover behind a cannon. It wasn't good, he couldn't do anything from here without Toothless. He could use the ship's weapons, but he didn't want to risk hurting the dragon.

"Krogan! Why don't you come down and fight fair and square?'' He jumped out of his hiding place with a sword in his hand.

A petty smile stretched the hunter's face as he jumped from his dragon to dexterously land on the deck.

"If you insist, boy.'' He said while wielding his axe.

Hiccup frowned and prepared for the attack as he slowly backed away That's when Krogan charged, he avoided the first blows of the axe, but his leg slowed him down too much. All he could do was back up and block the blows with his sword.

"Look at you, you can't beat me.'' The hunter giggled, and Hiccup knew it.

"I don't, but he can!'' He quipped as he saw his dragon come from behind. Krogan barely had time to turn around and screamed when the dragon's tail hit him, throwing him back.

"Hiccup!'' Astrid screamed as she came down from Toothless' back, she ran to him and inspected him from everywhere to make sure he was all right.

"I'm fine, we have to help Thoril!''

The couple then went to Thoril's rescue, while the other riders took care of the remaining boats and dragon flyers. The young man was on the ground, Viggo above him, ready to give the fatal blow, but Toothless tackled him on the ground at the last moment. Thoril then took the opportunity to snatch the dragon eye from his belt.

"Hiccup!'' The man screamed before throwing the artifact at him.

The dragon rider narrowly missed to catch the object, not being able to jump as high as he had hoped.

"No!'' He shouted as he watched the object roll across the bridge, he rushed after it, but when he bent down to catch it, an axe sank into the boards, narrowly missing to cut off his hand.

Hiccup gasped in surprise before looking up at Krogan who punched him in the face.

The dragon rider groaned and crashed to the ground. Without giving him time to come to his senses, Krogan repeatedly struck him in the most vulnerable part of his body, determined to get it over with.

For a moment the chief believed that he was going to succeed, each blow bringing him a little closer to unconsciousness. He thought he heard someone shouting his name, his ears whistling so loudly that he didn't know who it was.

Everything was black and blurry for a moment, suddenly he felt the weight of his aggressor withdrawing, the next moment, he was cradled in someone's arms. With great effort, he opened his eyes and thought he saw Astrid talking to him.

"-ccup! Talk to me!'' He thought he heard through the high-pitched and constant sound in his ears.

"The Dragon's Eye.'' He whispered as he tried to get up to find him.

"It's here, Krogan won't be a problem anymore, and neither will Viggo.'' The young woman assured as she gently helped him to sit down against Toothless who licked him with affection, happy to see his trainer again.

"I'm not so sure about Viggo.'' Another voice added, it seemed to be Tuffnut's, when did he arrive? That's when the chief understood he has been out for more than just a few seconds.

"No! He can't escape!'' Thoril said, outraged as he ran towards the side of the boat.

"Let him go! He lost, his fleet is destroyed and we have the dragon eye.'' Astrid shouted at him.

"We won't see him for a while.'' Fishlegs confirmed.

"He must pay for what he did!'' Insisted Thoril.

"And he will, but for now, we have to go home and treat you and Hiccup.''

When Hiccup heard that they had won, he slumped against his partner, relieved that all this was finally over. The rider then let himself close his eyes, the weight of the last week events, the pain and fatigue pulling him into a deep sleep.

Silence fell on the deck as the riders took in their leader's battered form. Thoril approached the group awkwardly. Each of them looked up at him, their expressions torn with anger, sadness and mostly guilt.

''We need to talk.'' Thoril said after a while. They nodded silently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Reference to RTTE 4x13 : Shell shocked P2
> 
> Note : Okay, next chapter will be an epilogue, I didn't want to write one, but now I do. Problem is : I don't have the time to do it right now :/


	10. Chapter 10 : Epilogue/ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, sorry for the wait...especially for an epilogue, that's ridiculous. Hope you can enjoy it anyway, don't expect something big.

Hiccup moaned softly as consciousness slowly dragged him back to the surface. Pain was the first thing he expected when waking up, though he didn’t feel any right now. Too scared to move just yet, the rider simply opened his eyes. The room was very dark except for the candle placed next to his bed, still he could tell this place wasn’t familiar to him.

 

Where was he?

 

That was the only question he had time to ask himself before someone suddenly pushed through the curtain at the door. Hiccup immediately sat up when he recognized Thoril who just froze, as if surprised to seem him awake.

 

‘’You’re awake.’’ The stranger mumbled.

 

Confusion overtook him as Thoril approached the bed, his instincts screamed at him to get away from this man, he couldn’t remember everything, but he remembered the cave, the darkness, the pain, his face. Too close, he was getting too close! A hand shot toward him as he scrambled away from the bed, away from his agressor. Pain exploded in his leg, he hurt him there, he remembered. He tried to get up, but found out his prosthetic was missing. The rider’s head shot toward the only escape of the room, but his vision was quickly blocked by Thoril’s body.

 

‘’Wow, hold on, you’re hurting yourself!’’ The stranger snapped as he started restraining his patient, which only made him panic and struggle even more. Hiccup felt so weak, he knew he wouldn’t be able to fight him and get away, not like this. But he couldn’t let him hurt him again!

 

‘’Let me go!’’ He screamed, and started kicking his legs, ignoring the pain.

 

Only then Thoril understood he was the problem.

 

‘’Okay, okay stop! Stop it!’’ Thoril cried and released him all of sudden.  
  
Both of them sat here, breathing heavily, Hiccup was trembling all over, staring at him with wide, frightened eyes. Seeing the wounded man in this state of distress at the mere sight of him only added more to the guilt he already felt.

 

 ‘’It’s okay, you’re safe, I’m not going to hurt you.’’ He said, attempting to soothe him.

 

His gaze landed on the rider’s thigh, his wound had started bleeding again, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to treat it. Not until he calmed down.

 

Making sure his movements were slow and visible for the other man, Thoril fetched a wet cloth in the bucket next to him. Hiccup frowned when he noticed the bandage around the stranger’s arm, and then remembered. Thoril had helped him on the boat, fought Viggo’s men. Toothless was here too, and his friends.  
  
‘’Hey, Hiccup?’’ A voice called, bringing him back to reality. Thoril was still crouched down in front of him, a washcloth in his extended hand.  
  
‘’Put that on your wound okay? I’ll get your friends.’’

 

Hiccup allowed himself to tear his gaze apart from the other man to look down at his leg, and supposed the bandage around his thigh was still white a few minutes ago. The awareness of his injury just made the pain feel worse.

 

Since Thoril wasn’t going to let him bleed out, he decided to step into action when the other did not react. He simply placed the cloth on the wound, extracting a hiss from the rider who grabbed his arm to stop him. He froze, letting him take the time to realize he wasn’t a threat.

 

‘’We need to stop the bleeding.’’ He explained gently, and surprisingly, Hiccup nodded and released his arm.  ‘’Just keep some pressure here.’’ He instructed, gently guiding his patient’s hands over the washcloth.

‘’Okay.’’ Hiccup whispered and Thoril nodded, happy to see the rider finally came to his senses.

 

‘’I’m coming back with your friends.’’ Hiccup heard him say, and just like that, he was alone.  
  
Shortly after, Toothless rushed into the room, followed by Astrid and the others. The dragon, seeing his friend in pain, whined sadly and licked his face. Hiccup laughed softly, happy to see his dragon was okay.

 

‘’Hello there, bud.’’ He smiled.

 

‘’Hiccup! Are you alright?’’ Astrid asked as she knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.  
  
‘’I’m fine.’’ He breathed.  
  
‘’Let’s get him to the bed.’’ Thoril ordered, immediately Snotlout rushed to his other side and Hiccup felt himself being lifted off the floor. The pain flared in his leg but subsided the second he met the soft surface.

 

‘’How long was I out?’’ Was the first question that came out of the many whirling in his head.

 

‘’A day.’’ Astrid answered.

 

‘’Where are we?’’

 

‘’On Thoril’s island.’’  
  
‘’What about Viggo?’’  
  
‘’Gone, he escaped.’’

 

‘’The Edge?’’

 

Astrid pursed her lips at that, not knowing what to say. All of them was here, which meant there was probably no one there.  
  
‘’It’s unguarded? What if Viggo comes back-’’  
  
‘’There’s nothing left to steal there Hiccup, I’m sorry.’’ As soon as Fighlegs said those words, it came back to him, his hut, along with all their researches on dragons, has been destroyed.

 

At the saddened expression on her boyfriend’s face, Astrid grabbed his hand to offer her support. Hiccup tensed at the contact but relaxed slightly when he met her eyes. She looked sorry, like the rest of the team, and his heart clenched at the sight of them.

 

The chief couldn’t really describe what he was feeling right now, like a mixture of pain, anger and relief. Anger, towards them, for not believing him, but also towards himself, for pushing them too hard. It was enough to overcome the relief he felt when he saw them all alive and well.  
  
Thoril, who had settled for removing his bandages during their wordless exchange, cleared his throat to ease the tension.

 

‘’You tore your stitches, I need to replace them.’’  He said sternly, as he grabbed a needle, ‘’If you guys could leave us, please?’’

 

Without a word, everyone left the room. Astrid’s hand was still clasping his, but when the chief lowered his head and did not return the gesture, she let go. Thoril and she exchanged a sad glance, and the stranger nodded to her.

 

‘’Okay, this is probably going to hurt.’’ He said, as he dipped a cloth in antiseptic lotion.

 

‘’Nothing I didn’t have time to get used to these days.’’ Hiccup said, harsher than he intended.

 

Thoril visibly winced at that, but continued the treatment anyway. It was Hiccup’s turn to wince when the cloth came in contact with his wound.

 

‘’I regret what I did, I really do.’’ The stranger said, his eyes focused on his task, his hands working gently but effectively. Once he finished cleaning the wound, he applied some sort of green cream, it felt cold at first, then it gradually started to feel numb.

 

‘’Viggo made you do it, you’re not responsible.’’ Hiccup said, trying to keep his voice even.

 

Thoril shook his head and stared at his shaky, bloody hands.

 

‘’No, I did this, with my own hands. Viggo only hand the plans, only offered the easy way. I could’ve told him no, I could hav-’’ His voice broke, and he turned his head away in shame.

 

Hiccup didn’t know what to say, clearly the other man was sincere. Thoril was just another victim of Viggo’s horror and manipulations. He wished he could make it all go away, instead he just looked up at him, and listened.

 

‘’Worst thing is, if I could go back in time, I would do it all over again.’’ Thoril looked at him, his eyes shone. ‘’I would do anything to save my people.’’

 

As a chief, Hiccup could understand.

 

‘’How are they, your people?’’ Hiccup asked softly.

 

‘’Still starving, but at least we got our fleet back in one piece.’’

 

‘’The fish is still not coming back? That’s strange.’’ The rider frowned.

 

‘’It’s only been a day, maybe they will come back now that Viggo isn’t feeding them to his dragons anymore...’’ Thoril said as he started sewing the wound back shut, surprisingly, Hiccup didn’t feel anything. Probably because of the cream.

 

‘’No, I don’t think the dragons were fishing them out, something must be simply blocking their way in, like nets all around the island. I could check this out with Toothless.’’  
  
‘’You should rest, that’s the priority.’’ Thoril said firmly and his patient sighed in response.

 

‘’I just want to help.’’

 

‘’Then talk about it to your friends, I’m sure they would love to help you help me.’’ Thoril smiled.

 

At the mention of his friends, Hiccup lowered his head and fiddled nervously with his blanket.

 

‘’Yeah… I guess I could do that.’’

 

Silence settled between the two as Thoril wrapped fresh bandages around Hiccup’s thigh.

‘’I wish I could fix whatever is going on between you and your friends.’’ Thoril broke the silence before gently tapping the rider’s leg with his finger, ‘’But at least I could fix this.’’

 

‘’Thank you.’’ Hiccup smiled.

 

The other man nodded and went for the door.

 

‘’Thoril?’’ The rider called after a moment of hesitation. The stranger immediately stopped and turned around to face him. ‘’I forgive you.’’ Hiccup simply said, but he knew it meant a lot for the other man, to hear those simple words. Thoril eyes shone with fresh tears and nodded his thanks before leaving.

 

Hiccup sighed as he leaned back down on the bed. The rider has been awake for less than an hour but already felt like going back to sleep. He was about to let himself drift off when he heard a familiard purr. Toothless was here, peeping through the curtain, his pupils dilated and earflap down.

 

‘’Heyyyy bud! Come in, come in!’’ Hiccup exclaimed, happy to see his best friend again.

 

At his tone, Toothless let his hesitation aside and rushed to his rider, his butt wiggling wih excitement. Hiccup hugged his dragon as best as he could from his position.

 

‘’I’m glad you’re okay.’’ The rider said, his dragon purred in answer.

 

‘’I don’t think he would have been able to wait any longer.’’ Someone laughed.

 

Hiccup stopped petting his dragon to look up at Astrid, he didn’t see her coming after Toothless.

 

‘’How is the leg now?’’ She asked, dragging an empty bucket with her to flip it around and use it to sit next to his bed.  
  
‘’Much better.’’ Hiccup smiled, his girlfriend smiled back but quickly faded.

 

‘’This should never have happened.’’ She said bitterly, angry at herself.

 

‘’Astrid…’’ Hiccup started weakly, he wasn’t sure he was ready to have this conversation right now.

 

‘’Astrid! Can we come in now?’’ Snotlout shouted from outside, interrupting him.

 

 ‘’Is he awake at least?’’ Fishlegs asked as he shyly peaked in. 

 

Astrid shot an apologetic look at Hiccup, who let out a soft sigh. He knew he couldn’t avoid this dicussion forever. Maybe now was the time, after all.

 

‘’Alright, l think we need to talk.’’  

 

He barely had time to finish the sentence when the whole group stood before him. His eyes darted from one rider to the other as he tried to find the right words. Surprisingly, he wasn’t the one to make the first step.

 

‘’We’re sorry, Hiccup, for everything.’’ Fishlegs said, his head bowed down in shame.

 

‘’Yeah, we should never have trusted Thoril, this guy was too perfect to be true anyway.’’ Snotlout mumbled.

 

‘’Technically he is still perfect, it’s not his fault he got manipulated.’’ Ruffnut argued.

 

‘’Well he manipulated all of us.’’ Snotlout said.

 

‘’Not _all_ of us! That’s the point.’’ Astrid stepped in.

 

‘’Well Hiccup decided to trust him in the end didn’t he? That’s not our fault!’’  Ruffnut countered.

 

‘’Okay… guys!’’ The chief tried to calm his team down, but his call went unheard.

 

‘’To trick us into opening our eyes, he put his life in danger so we could finally listen to him!’’ Astrid snapped, decided to defend her boyfriend.

 

 ‘’Guys! Can I please get the chance to speak for myself?’’ Hiccup screamed all of sudden, and everyone froze.

 

‘’Okay, first, I needed Thoril away from the edge, that’s why I sent you all on vacation. And second, yes, I wanted you to open your eyes, I wanted you to trust me, to be safe, and I failed!’’ The more his spoke, the angrier his voice got.

 

‘’Hiccup…’’ Astrid tried, but was interrupted almost immediately.

 

‘’No! I failed, and I’m sorry! I’m sorry that I wasn’t as strong, as brave and as caring as Thoril. I’m sorry that after almost five years together, I couldn’t gain your trust, while he gained it in barely one week! Yes, I was jealous, and I felt betrayed and ashamed, and every day I kept wondering what I could have done wrong, not only as a leader, but also as a friend.’’

 

He paused to take his breath; his throat was so tight from holding back the tears.

 

‘’It almost felt like…Like I was Hiccup the useless all over again.’’  The rider finished, his voice breaking.

 

All the room was silent except for Toothless’ soft coo.

 

‘’Wow… That was…’’ Ruffnut started.

 

‘’Deep.’’ Her brother completed.

 

‘’And wrong.’’

 

‘’Totally wrong, especially the last part.’’

 

‘’Yeah, that’s the stupidiest thing I’ve ever heard!’’ Snotlout added.

 

‘’Hiccup, you’re the bravest, kindest and smartest viking I’ve ever known. You’re the reason we got to make peace with the dragons, build the edge, and go on adventure together! I wouldn’t want anyone but you, as a leader.’’ Everyone nodded in agreement to Astrid’s speech, making the young chief’s eyes water.

 

‘’You’ve never did anything wrong, ever. You’ve always been there for us, always making the right decisions, no matter how difficult they were.’’ Fishlegs said.

 

‘’Yeah, even when you made us work to death, it was for a good reason, we understand that now.’’ Snotlout added, crossing his arms.

 

‘’No, I pushed you too hard this time. I actually planned to talk to you about it when… you know.’’ Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

 

‘’So… you’re not kicking us out of the team?’’ Tuffnut asked, and Hiccup’s eye widened at that

 

‘’What? Of course not!’’ The chief said, frowning. ‘’And actually… I know what might be our next mission.’’ He smiled.

 

Everyone’s face lit up at the same time and approached the bed, ready to hear his instructions.

 

___________________________________________________________________________

                                        

 

Five days later, life slowly returned back to normal on the Edge.

 

Thoril and his people were provided supplies to help them rebuild themselves. Hiccup helped him on the way to remove the nets around the island that prevented the fish from coming. In return Thoril helped him rebuild what has been destoyed on the Edge.

 

The two leaders watched the last tiles being set on Hiccup’s new hut in silence, glad that their story ended well.

 

"I can never thank you enough, Hiccup.’’ Thoril broke the silence.

 

"You don't have to thank me, it was the least thing to help you after what happened to you.’’

 

"You didn't have to, after all I put you through..." Thoril's gaze landed on Hiccup's still bandaged leg.

 

"I already told you, I don't blame you, and it's almost cured.’’ Hiccup smiled as he shook his leg. He turned his gaze back to the horizon when he heard the group of dragon riders arrive.

 

"This story has much more positive outcomes than you can imagine.’’ He added.

 

"What do you mean?’’

 

"Well first, we would never have met you and your people. And I’ve learned a lot, on myself, on my team, even if deep down I always knew that they would never leave me.’’ The chief smiled proudly, and Thoril nodded.

 

‘’And last thing: look at that hut!’’ Hiccup laughted as he took in the 3 stories high hut with a roof that pretty much looked like a giant Toothless’ head.

 

"Yeah, so awesome!’’ Ruffnut exclaimed as the group arrived near them.

 

‘’Good as new!’’ Snotlout added.

 

‘’I still can’t believe we made it in barely one week!’’ Fishlegs breathed as sweat rolled down his temples.

 

‘’That’s because we make a great team.’’ Astrid said as she took Hiccup’s hand in hers discretly, and smiled when he squeezed it back warmly.

 

"It’s perfect, guys, thank you! Why don't we all go in and have a drink together to celebrate?’’

 

"I'm not saying no to that!’’ Snotlout cheered.

 

[THE END]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to the one who actively followed this story when it came out, and future thanks to the future readers who will get the chance to read it in one go!  
> I'm no writer or anything, but I still enjoyed writing this story. It was an honor for me to contribute to extend this amazing world that is How to train your dragon, that sadly ended with the movies.


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